The Limits of Love
by elise bentwin
Summary: It's James' 7th year at Hogwarts and he still has a crush on none other than Lily Evans! Despite his best efforts, she still won't sumbit to his wishes and go out with him. How far will his love be able to take him?
1. Potions

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; that right belongs to the all so wonderful J.K. Rowling! However, I _do_ own Professor Tortoyla and Olivia Endenton.

Enjoy!

"So, what do you think of him?"

"Erm…he's _ok_."

"Oh Lily! Come on, what do you _really _think?" Lily Evans blushed and tucked a loose strand of red hair behind her ear.

"Let's go, Olivia, we'll be late." Olivia Endenton glanced at her watch.

"Oh pooh on you, Lily, we have three minutes! Go talk to him!" She pushed Lily towards him and, laughing, she turned away and shook her head.

"Not today, Olivia. Now, come on, we're going to be late!" With a sigh, Olivia allowed her best friend to drag her down the hallways of Hogwarts to the dungeons, where they were to have their first class of their 7th year, Potions. They entered the classroom and the familiar smell of chemicals and other things better unnamed caught Lily's attention. She wrinkled her nose and took a seat in the third row. Olivia slumped into the seat next to her only to jump up again as the classroom door suddenly banged shut. She let out a little cry of surprise but immediately stifled it as Professor Tortoyla, the substitute potions teacher, bore down on her.

"And why, Miss Endenton would you feel the need to scream in my classroom?" the woman asked, her hooked nose, covered in warts, barely a hairs breadth away from Olivia's face. Lily saw Olivia's dark eyes widen behind her thick rimmed glasses.

"Excuse me, Professor, but I was just-"

"There shall be _no_ excuses, Miss Endenton, now, that will be 5 points from Gryffindor."

The door banged shut once again and the whole class turned around. Lily groaned inwardly, dreading to look back, because she knew exactly who'd be standing there.

"Come on, James! Sirius!" Remus yelled, doubling back and grabbing his best friends by the wrist and dragging them away from the window. "We're going to be late!" James glanced down at his watch.

"We're already late, Remus, it doesn't matter."

"No, we're not, we have five more-" The bell rang and a hush fell over the castle.

"Yes!" James cried triumphantly, breaking the silence and looking proudly at his watch. "Right on time!"

"Argh! Come on you two! We don't have time for this!" Angrily, Remus stomped off down the hallway, half dragging the other two behind him.

"Calm yourself, Remus, calm yourself. We don't want you to turn into a werewolf quite so early. It's only our first day back!" Remus glared at his friend as they came in sight of the classroom door at the end of the corridor.

"You're lucky I'm not, because both of you would've lost your heads by now!" Sirius laughed.

"And that would be such a pity, wouldn't it?" James asked, ruffling his hair with the back of his hand so it looked as if he'd just gotten off his broomstick.

"Stop that, will you?" Remus asked.

"Why?"

"It makes you look, well…perverted…obsessed with how you look."

"And why shouldn't I be?" James asked.

"Yeah," Sirius joined in, "why shouldn't he be? He's gotta impress Lily!" James shot a death glare at Sirius.

"Oh yes," Remus murmured, "and you're going to do just that by being late to class." He opened the door to Potions class and let it slam shut behind them. James quickly glanced around the room and immediately spotted Lily, sitting next to Olivia. She, unlike the rest of the class, had not turned around just yet to look at them; James wished she would.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Professor Tortoyla asked, coming over to stand in front of them, her hooked nose quivering with indignation; the warts were glowing a bright, pink hue. Sirius could hardly suppress a smirk, and James let out a snort.

"And what exactly do you two think is so funny?"

"Erm, nothing Professor," Sirius replied, trying to hide his grin.

"Nothing, nothing at all," James answered, glancing at Lily again who had, by this time, turned around; her eyes were emitting hateful sparks at him, as usual.

"Well then," Professor Tortoyla said, bearing down on him and Sirius. She seemed to have forgotten about Remus who stood off to the side, looking like a guilty child. "If that's all settled, it'll be 10 points from Gryffindor from each of you." She glanced slightly at Remus, who nodded, ashamed. "Now, take your seats."

James sighed, and sat down heavily in a desk in the back of the classroom; Sirius and Remus moved to join him.

"No, not there," Professor Tortoyla said, annoyed. "You, Black, sit there." She pointed to a desk in the front row of the classroom. "You, Lupin, may stay where you are. And you, Potter, can sit there. Olivia, you move and sit next to Remus." James could hardly believe his luck…he got to sit right next to Lily! Could the day get any better?

"Those will be your seats for the rest of the week. Now, move!" James obediently gathered up his books and sauntered over to Lily, waiting impatiently as Olivia gathered up her supplies and moved to go sit next to Remus. He sat down, a wide smirk on his face. Lily glared at him as if he were evolving into a piece of poo; she immediately raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Evans?"

"Please, Professor, may I…uh….move somewhere else?" Lily glanced at James.

"Why no, Miss Evans, as you can see, there are no other empty seats!" Professor Tortoyla replied.

"What about that one?" Lily asked, pointing at a desk situated in the very back corner of the classroom.

"Absolutely not," the professor replied. "That desk is hardly suitable for a student like yourself. Now, please, stop wasting my time." Lily opened her mouth to say something more, but the professor cut her off with a curt shake of her head. Looking like she was doomed to the gallows she turned her head and glared menacingly at James.

"You pig!" she murmured. "I'll get you for this!"

"Sure you will," James muttered. "I dare say, I'm going to look forward to Potions more and more now." He smiled at her.

"POTTER!" Professor Tortoyla bellowed from the front of the room. "Detention for the rest of the week!" She turned away to yell at Sirius who was tapping his foot on the ground, and James turned to glance again at Lily who had her head in her hands. She looked up as soon as the professor began talking, but James could tell she was deliberately not turning her head to the right, so she wouldn't have to look at him. Detention for the rest of the week…oh well, James didn't care. He was fine now…perfectly fine. She was so pretty, Lily...with her long red hair…her bright green eyes…they sparkled all the time…except when she looked at him.

"Potter! Get out your ingredients now!" Tortoyla yelled across the room at him. Sighing, he looked up at the chalkboard and pulled out the ingredients necessary to make the day's potion…a Blood Replenishing Potion. He glanced at Lily who was busy chopping up rats' tails. He purposely dropped his measuring cup on the ground and bent down to pick it up, and in doing so, leaned in and whispered,

"Will you go out with me?" Lily turned to face him and James found himself staring straight into her bright green eyes, which were so bright, he felt blinded for a moment.

"You wish," she hissed at him. She looked away and James leaned back in his seat, completely taken aback. Of course, he'd known she's say no, but not like that. So she really _did _hate him…well, he was just going to have to change that.

A/N: So here's the first chapter of my first fic! I'm having a lot of fun writing this…please please please review! Oh and just to let you know, this title is temporary…I don't quite like it…so as I get further into my story, I'll change it.

elise


	2. Brandon Parkinson

A/N: Ok so here's chapter 2! I was going to wait for my friend to beta it, but I decided not to since I can always edit this later. Any suggestions would be helpful and to all who reviewed my last chapter, thank you **so **much…it means a lot to me and it encourages me to keep writing. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Ok, so you're going to meet a new character in this story: Brandon Parkinson. He's Pansy Parkinson's father, but I made up the first name, since I can't find out Pansy's parent's names. If you know, please tell me in your review, but I'm pretty sure J.K. Rowling has never mentioned them. So, it's kind of half and half, but not really…for now, I'll say he's mine.

Hope you enjoy this!

elise

"You two are free to go," Tortoyla said, looking up from her desk. "Potter, I shall see you tomorrow night, same time, same place."

"Yes, Professor," Sirius and James said in unison, extracting their hands from the tub full of rat spleen and leeches they'd been sorting through. They hurried out of the classroom and as soon as they were out in the hallway Sirius let out an indignant growl.

"That…that….slime ball piece of scum!"

"Now, come on Sirius," James said, patting his friend's shoulder, "calm yourself." Sirius's eyes flashed. "It could've been worse." Sirius snorted.

"Psh…yeah, whatever."

"At least you don't have to have another week of it," James reminded him. Sirius grimaced.

"Good luck mate."

"Thanks." They entered the library and Remus looked up from a table and beckoned them over, a slightly amused expression on his face.

"So, how was it?" he asked, turning the pages of a book that lay open in front of him, filled with pictures of potion ingredients.

"Great," James said, "couldn't have been better." Sirius only narrowed his eyes before reaching under the table and grabbing his book bag that Remus had brought along; James did the same, pulling out a quill and some parchment as well.

"Remus! Remus! I found it!" A breathy voice spoke in James' ear and he looked up to find Peter Pettigrew staring at them all, a huge book in his arms which he held excitedly out to Remus.

"Good, good, Peter, just put it there," Remus instructed, gesturing towards the table.

"You don't need it?" Peter asked, his face crestfallen.

"Later, Peter, just leave it there for now." Peter placed the book on the table and then took a seat next to Sirius and began gathering up his quills and parchment.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Sirius demanded.

"I'm done with all my homework," Peter said proudly, grinning. "See you later."

"He's done?" James asked incredulously; Remus shrugged.

"Apparently, now quit bugging me." James sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He might as well get all his homework done tonight, he had detention for the rest of the week; not that it should bother him, he and Sirius were striving to set the school record.

"Eh, come on James. What're we doing homework for on the first night back?" Sirius asked.

"What else do we have to do?" James responded, opening his Charms manual. "Besides, I want to get it all done tonight; I have Quidditch practice tomorrow evening." Sirius sighed.

"Fine, fine, be that way." Remus looked up from his parchment, frowned at Sirius, shook his head, and then resumed his writing. James flipped through the pages of his manual and then proceeded to write about the use of the Fidelius Charm.

"Well, Potter, you're actually doing homework? Now, _that's _impressive." James looked up and wasn't at all surprised to see Brandon Parkinson looking down at him, a wide smirk plastered on his face.

"I'd shut up, if I were you," Sirius growled. Brandon placed a hand on his chest and feigned shock.

"My, my," he said, "how threatening. I just wanted to point out to Potter here that he looks quite handsome bent over his parchment, his eyes narrowed in concentration, doing his homework like a good little school boy."

"What do you mean?" James asked, standing; Brandon chuckled softly.

"I mean to say, James, that you may consider yourself quite good looking, but you're just not quite up to some women's standards; particularly Evans'."

"What?" Brandon grinned.

"I'm off to go and sit with my girlfriend," he said, "see you later." He raised an eyebrow at James before turning and going to join Lily at a table. She turned to look at James and he could've sworn something like a smile flitted across her face. Slowly, James sat back down in his chair and stared in disbelief at the parchment before him. Lily choosing Brandon over him? It just wasn't possible. Sirius read his mind and clapped his shoulder.

"Come on, mate, it'll be alright. Do you want me to beat him up for you?"

"No, Sirius, not this time."

"What did you just say?" Remus asked in astonishment. "You're not going to beat him up?"

"Shut up, Remus," James said, lowering his head so he couldn't see the tears that had suddenly formed in his eyes. He glanced quickly at Lily who was engaged in a deep conversation with Brandon. Frustrated, he shook his head, stood, and swept all his books into his bag and made for the door of the library.

"Hey, James! Wait!" Sirius cried. But James didn't wait; he kept walking, walking, and walking down the long, cold, stone corridors of the school, not paying attention to anything around him. Brandon's voice kept playing over and over in his head.

"I'm off to sit with my new girlfriend." The sight of Lily talking to him made James' sick. It just wasn't possible. No one had ever turned him down before... they couldn't! He was James Potter... but... maybe he wasn't all that he thought he was... like Brandon said... how else would Lily chose that dipwad over him? Tears threatened to leak from behind the eyes that weren't willing to believe what they saw.

"You did what?" Olivia asked, astounded.

"I agreed." Lily answered, leaning back in her chair. Olivia's eyes widened even more.

"I can't believe it," she murmured, staring into the fire. "You actually said yes to Brandon?"

"Well, why not?" Lily demanded angrily. "He's a nice boy." Olivia snorted.

"Lily, what is wrong with you? Last year you said you hated Brandon because he called you a Mudblood every time he saw you!"

"Well, that was last year," Lily insisted. "But, he's changed over the summer, I think. He's a lot nicer now and quite good looking."

"Psh, ok, sure, he's _ok _looking, I'll give you that, but he hasn't changed Lily!"

"Yes he has!" Olivia shook her head and sighed deeply.

"Alright then…"she murmured.

"What's wrong with him, Olivia?" Lily demanded. "Why _shouldn't _I go out with him?"

"Well, Lily, to tell you the truth, he's not your type of guy."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember what you told me last year after I asked why you kept refusing to go out with Potter? You wanted a guy who respected you, had a good sense of humor, did well in school, was good looking, and was against Voldemort. Well, I hate to break it to you but Brandon isn't _any _of those." Lily opened her mouth to speak and then immediately shut it, like a fish gasping for air.

"Well, whatever Olivia! My priorities have changed!" Lily stood up and angrily stomped up the stairs to the girl's dormitories. Sighing, Olivia leaned back in her chair, running her fingers through her long blonde hair.

"Sure they've changed…sure." She looked up as the portrait hole swung open and was surprised to see Potter come storming in, alone, without Sirius, Remus, or Peter by his side. His hair was messed up, as usual, but his eyes were red, and he was biting his lip and walking quite fast.

"Oi! Potter!" Olivia cried, standing up. "What's wrong?" Potter glanced at her but said nothing and continued on his way up to the boy's dormitories; Olivia could only guess what had made him so mad. With a groan, she sank back into her chair and stared dully into the fire. Her cat, Isabella, leapt onto her lap and she stroked her absentmindedly.

"It's going to be a long year," she said, "a _very_ long year."


	3. Woes and Worries

A/N: First off, thanks to those who reviewed my last chapter...you don't know how much it means to me. Also, I'm sorry for not posting in awhile…I've had company from CA and I'm going to have a friend from TX here for a week so I can't promise any more updates until Sunday…but please don't stop reading! I promise I'll update more frequently as soon as our stream of visitors is gone.

Ok so after reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince I realized that Professor Horace Slughorn would've been the potions teacher in Lily and James' time. So I'm going to cancel out Professor Tortoyla…she was merely a substitute for the beginning of term while Professor Slughorn was away…kind of lame, I know, but I can't really think of anything else! I'm going to edit my first chapter to make this believable. So here's chapter three! I hope you enjoy it! Please review!

Elise

Chapter 3

**Woes and Worries**

Two weeks passed and James was stricken at the fact that Lily and Brandon were still going steady. He'd expected them to break up after a couple days, seeing how Brandon was the world's biggest prat, but they didn't, and James spent his days dreaming of ways to get them to break up.

"You could feed her a love potion," Peter suggested one night while they were in the library doing homework.

"That's illegal," Remus automatically pointed out and Sirius snorted.

"And since when has that ever stopped James?" Remus shook his head and sighed deeply.

"I don't think that'd work," James said, jerking himself back to the present and his Potions essay that lay in front of him. "Lily would never accept anything I offered her."

"Well, perhaps from one of us?" suggested Peter, gesturing at Sirius and Remus.

"She's not _that_ thick," Sirius said.

"Ah well, _apparently _she is," James contradicted, jerking his head towards the library door where Lily and Brandon had just walked in holding hands.

"Oi! Potter!" Brandon called across the library, awarding himself one of Madam Pince's award winning glares. James turned in his chair so his back was to him. "Miss Evans here wants to talk to you!"

"I do not!" Lily cried indignantly.

"Oh yes you do, you just told me so."

"What is it?" James asked, turning in his chair and glaring at Lily who looked slightly taken aback; he'd never glared at her, it was usually her who was doing the glaring.

"Well, I just wanted to remind you that we have a meeting in Professor McGonagall's office tonight at 8:00 to discuss our duties as Head Boy and Head Girl."

"I know," James replied stiffly. "What'd you expect me to do? Forget?" Lily narrowed her eyes at his sarcastic comment.

"You don't have to be so rude about it, Potter. I just wanted to remind you because actually, I thought you _would _forget."

"Well, I didn't," James answered, when in truth he had.

"Well fine, I'll see you tonight then." And with that she grabbed hold of Brandon's wrist and dragged him to the table farthest away from the Marauders. James turned back to his essay and angrily jammed his quill into his ink bottle, splattering ink all over his paper. Remus sighed and impatiently waved his wand over his friend's piece of parchment and the ink disappeared.

"Thanks," James muttered, cramming his essay into his book bag and stalking out of the library.

"Prongs! Wait up!" Sirius shouted after him.

"Shush, Black!" Madam Pince reprimanded him; James didn't listen. He strode quickly down the hallway towards the Great Hall. He needed to go outside; some fresh air would do him good.

Sirius caught up to him just as he made it out onto the grounds. James breathed in deeply and let the cool night air wash over him, filling his lungs with the tangy taste of pine trees. He glanced up at the sky and saw several hundreds of stars twinkling down at him merrily; the moon shone brightly over the lake and an owl hooted somewhere off in the distance.

"Hey, Prongs!" Sirius grabbed his shoulder and breathing heavily, spun James around so he faced him. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing," James muttered. "Leave me alone!"

"It's Lily isn't it?"

"No, it's not." Sirius snorted.

"Sure, and I'm a werewolf."

"Shut up." James jerked out of his grip and walked away towards the lake.

"James!" Sirius caught up to him again and grabbed his arm.

"What do you want?" James demanded angrily; he didn't feel like talking to anyone right now.

"I want to talk to you, mate! You're going crazy! I can tell! What can I do to help? Ever since the beginning of the year, when Evans started going out with Parkinson, you've been all…well, whacked out! What can I do?"

"There's nothing you can do Sirius," James replied, and to his horror, his eyes started to fill with tears, because he knew Sirius was right; he was too obsessed with Lily. The mere thought of her and Brandon together was driving him insane. He looked away and hastily wiped at his eyes, but Sirius saw the tears nonetheless and he smiled.

"You know James, you must really like her to be able to shed tears about her." James forced out a strangled laugh and shrugged.

"It's not just that I like her, Padfoot, it's that, so I'm frustrated with the fact that she's going out with _Parkinson_, of all people, and she just won't pay any attention to me. I mean, what exactly is wrong with me?" Sirius stepped back and scrutinized James closely.

"Well, first off, I think she doesn't like the fact that you're a little too conceited."

"You think I'm conceited?" James asked nervously.

"Well…" Sirius shrugged, "it's something we both can work on, but I think that's the one thing she definitely hates. But frankly, Prongs, I'm not entirely sure because I'm not Lily, and I'm not close enough to her to actually be able to ask her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I could ask her what she thinks is wrong with you…"

"We've already tried that, remember? Last year…she threatened to hex us if we ever asked again." Sirius laughed and so did James.

"Oh yes...now I remember. Well, who _would_ she tell?"

"Olivia?" James suggested.

"Well yes, of course…we could ask her."

"Yeah…I suppose. How about Remus?"

"Nah…don't be so thick Prongs! She wouldn't tell him because she knows he'd just go and tell us." James was silent for a few moments as he thought about what Sirius had said.

"What about-"

"You know what mate? I don't think it matters who the heck you ask…I just think that you should try and be yourself; eventually she'll fall for you."

"I've tried doing that for the past 3 years Sirius! And in case you haven't noticed, it hasn't been working!" Sirius laughed and shook his head.

"No, James, not the side of you that is the prankster and the joker and the conceited man-"

"Hey!"

"Well, it's true mate, both of us kind of have two sides to us, you know? The side that's evil, and the side that's kinda well…" Sirius hesitated and James saw him cringe. "Sweet, in a way."

"What? But that _is _me! I'm a prankster, a joker, and perhaps a bit conceited…"

"Ha! See, even you admitted it!" James shook his head.

"Whatever…"

"But I see what you mean…" Sirius murmured. "But I think you could just try and be nicer…sweeter…to people; for example, don't hex so many people…that annoys the crap out of her." James laughed, because he knew it was the truth.

"Yeah…but then will she like me?" Sirius shrugged and lazily bent down and picked up a small twig lying on the ground and twiddled it between his thumbs. He looked at it for a moment and then glanced back at James.

"I dunno, mate…it might help deflate your big head though." James laughed again.

"Sure…sure…whatever…wait, I have to stop hexing Snape?" Sirius looked shocked.

"No! Are you crazy? Of course not! _Snivellus _can be the exception. Now, it should be almost 8:00…and you have that meeting in Professor McGonagall's room."

"Oh yeah…shoot!" And with Sirius close behind, James raced across the grounds and into the castle; his woes and worries had evaporated slightly…and a plan was already forming in his mischief-making mind.


	4. Hexing Snivellus

Chapter 4

**Hexing Snivellus**

"What's up, Prongs? Why are you looking so pleased with yourself?" Sirius asked, looking up from his Charms manual as James entered the common room, eyes gleaming and a smug smile on his face.

"Well, Sirius, several things in fact," he replied, dropping his book bag on the ground and throwing himself into one of the armchairs.

"Like what?"

"Well, first off, I just got done hexing Snivellus…I must say, it gets more fun every time…and it's a nice way to relieve my stress." Sirius roared with laughter.

"How come you didn't wait for me?"

"I couldn't, mate," James replied, holding up his hands, "it was the _perfect_ moment. In fact, it was _so _perfect, he's in the hospital wing with tentacles for arms and a tail." Sirius shook his head in amazement.

"What the heck did you do to him?"

"Ah well, you see, there are some new spells I learned that-" But James was cut off at the sound of the portrait hole opening and loud footsteps on the floor. Flinching inwardly, he turned in his chair and wasn't surprised to see Lily striding towards him, her wand out, and her eyes ablaze with anger.

"You!" she cried as she drew nearer. "You! You are, without a doubt, the world's-biggest-prat, Potter!" All the words came out in one breath, rather mechanically, and she put a large emphasis on the last four words.

"Ah, Evans…now, don't make me take offense at that," James replied, leaning as far back in his chair as possible.

"Oh you will, Potter," Lily hissed, placing her hands on the arms of the chair and bearing down on him like a lion. "Mark my words. You can think of them during the two week detention you earned from Professor McGonagall."

"What?" James asked, aghast. "How did she find out? No one was there when I hexed him…I made sure of that!" Lily let out a loud, barking laugh that sound uncannily like Sirius'.

"You think that would help you stay out of trouble? Making sure no one was around when you hexed him? Oh no, Potter, you are _quite_ mistaken, because there is no other student in this school who would take the time and effort to hex Severus like you did…it wasn't that hard to figure out." James stared up in disbelief at Lily, whose face was surprisingly close to his; so close, in fact, he could've kissed her. Her eyes were emitting green sparks, her hair was a mass of red around her shoulders, and her cheeks were red with anger.

_She's so hot when she's angry…_James thought, and he was tempted to tell her so, when he remembered the conversation he'd had with Sirius a couple night's ago:

_"Try to be nicer…sweeter…" _So James bit his tongue and replied,

"So, erm, what do you want me to do?"

"Report to Professor McGonagall's office tomorrow night at 8:00," Lily answered.

"But-"

"Oh yes, she knows about Quidditch practice, but she doesn't care, Potter. Perhaps it will give you some time to deflate your big head so your broom will actually be able to take off and you can catch the snitch." With that, she turned around and strode quickly towards the stairway leading to the dormitories. But it wasn't over yet…Lily's last comment had really gotten to James.

"But why'd you tell her, Evans?" James yelled at her; she turned around to face him once again.

"Tell who what, Potter?" she spat.

"Tell McGonagall about Severus? I thought you didn't like him much…seeing how he calls you a Mudblood and everything. What you gonna do now? Dump Parkinson and start going out with him instead?" James knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left his mouth. Lily's eyes widened for a moment in shock, but then she hitched a glare back on her face and pointed her wand threateningly at James.

"Watch it, Potter," she hissed, before turning, with a flurry of black robes and a soft cry, up the stairs to her dormitory.

The next evening at 8:45, James sat in Professor McGonagall's classroom serving his detention: writing _I Shall Not Hex Severus Snape_ 100 times. His hand was cramping and he flexed it and winced as his fingers cramped.

"I'll be back in a moment, Potter," Professor McGonagall said, rising from her desk with a stack of papers in her hands. "I must take these to the headmaster. Keep writing and don't you _dare_ think of leaving, otherwise it will be an extra week of this."

"Yes, Professor," James replied dully, looking away from her beady stare and instead glaring at the piece of parchment in front of him. She swept out of the classroom and as soon as her footsteps had died away, James plunged his hand into his pocket and drew out his two-way mirror.

"Sirius!" he said softly into the mirror, and after a few seconds, Sirius' face materialized and James breathed a sigh of relief; _finally_, someone to talk to.

"Hey, Prongs!" Sirius said brightly. "How's it going?"

"Great…just great," James replied.

"What's she making you do?"

"Write _I Will Not Hex Severus Snape_ 100 times." Sirius laughed and James glared at him.

"Sorry, mate," he apologized, "couldn't resist." He smiled sheepishly and James shook his head.

"Whatever, Padfoot, so what are you up to?"

"The usual," Sirius replied, "raiding Filch's office."

"What?" Sirius laughed again and nodded.

"Yep! See, look!" He waved the mirror hastily around Filch's office and he caught a glimpse of Peter before he was forced to look away.

"Stop! You're making me dizzy!"

"Sorry, Prongs," Sirius answered, bringing the mirror to a stop in front of his face. "Oi! Peter…we're looking for the Marauder's Map, not food!"

"Sorry, Sirius," Peter muttered, and James heard a drawer slam.

"What? You're looking for the map?"

"Erm…uh, yeah, we are," Sirius replied absentmindedly, turning away from the mirror and rummaging through a drawer in Filch's desk. He pulled out a small piece of paper, glanced at it, shrugged, and then pocketed it quickly.

"Why are you looking for the map?" James asked warily, fingering his quill.

"Well, you see mate, Peter and I were looking at it in the common room after dinner-"

"Why?" Sirius shrugged.

"Just for fun…to see where everyone was." James nodded.

"Go on."

"And well, like I said, we were looking at it and then, out of the blue, Lily comes up and snatches it."

"WHAT!" James yelled. Sirius let out a shaky laugh.

"Yeah…I managed to clear it before she could find out what it was, but she gave it to Filch anyways. But no need to worry, I'll find it!" James put his head in his hands and sighed deeply.

"Sirius…Sirius…Sirius…"

"Sorry Prongs!"

"Hey, Padfoot! I found it!" Sirius turned his head quickly and a smile spread across his face.

"Excellent, Wormtail!" he said, reaching across Filch's desk. A piece of parchment appeared in the mirror's view and James breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nice job, guys," he said. "Nice job."

"Thanks," Sirius replied, stuffing the Marauder's Map in his pocket before looking back into the mirror. "See, Prongs? I told you I'd-"

"Padfoot! It's Mrs. Norris!" Wormtail cried.

"Oh crap," Sirius muttered. "See you later, Prongs."

"See you, Padfoot." And moments later, the mirror went blank. James leaned back in his chair, and ran his fingers through his already tousled hair. It'd been an eventful past two days, that was for sure…James had never seen Lily so angry…perhaps she really did have feelings for Severus! He shuddered at the thought and jumped at the sound of Professor McGonagall's heels _click clacking_ down the aisle towards James. She reached him and glanced at his parchment.

"You've only written it 65 times, Potter?" she asked, fixing him with her notorious beady stare.

"Yes, Professor," James replied.

"I would've expected more in the hour that you've received Potter. You shall stay here until you are finished."

"But-"

"No buts Potter!" Professor McGonagall cried, her voice ringing throughout the classroom. "If it need be, you shall be here until the wee hours of the morning-"

"Writing something that will never come true." The words were out of James' mouth before he could stop himself. Professor McGonagall's mouth tightened noticeably and her nostrils flared.

"Another smart comment like that Potter, and you will have landed yourself another week of detention. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Professor," James replied between clenched teeth; it was definitely going to be a tough year.


	5. The Talk and The Plan

A/N: Ok well I must say I'm rather disappointed…I only got ONE review for my last chapter…huddles up in a corner and cries…no, I'm not _that_ discouraged…but please please please review? Thank you soooo much!

Well, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

Elise

Chapter 5

**The Talk and The Plan**

"Brilliant, Miss Evans; simply brilliant!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed, clapping his hands as he looked excitedly down at Lily's cauldron. "Exactly the right color, smell, and consistency!" Lily couldn't help but blush as Slughorn beamed down at her.

"Thank you, Professor," she murmured, glancing at James who was glaring angrily at his potion which was bubbling and the color of poo, instead of a healthy glowing pink. She wrinkled her nose as it began to emit a foul aroma that smelled uncannily like manure.

"What did you put in that potion, Prongs?" Sirius yelled across the room and James laughed nervously.

"I don't know, Padfoot…"

"Evanesco!" At Slughorn's words, the potion disappeared, and he clicked his tongue in disappointment. "I would've expected better of you, Potter." He turned away and strode back to the front of the room. "I want a 2 foot essay on the ingredients, uses, and effects of the Amortentia Potion; due Monday." Loud groans followed the sound of the bell, and everyone quickly walked out of the classroom and towards the Great Hall, eager for lunch.

"Lily!" Lily turned at the sound of her name and spotted Olivia hurrying towards her.

"Yes?" Olivia grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the throng of students massing towards the Great Hall.

"I need to talk to you," she replied, dragging her towards an empty classroom.

"But, Brandon-"

"Yes, I know, but Brandon can wait," Olivia snapped, shutting the door and turning to face Lily.

"Olivia, what's wrong?" Lily asked, shocked by her friend's tone of voice. "What happened to you?"

"It's not about _me_, it's about James."

"James?" Lily laughed. "We came in here to talk about _James_?"

"Yes, Lily, we did," Olivia answered coldly, her eyes narrowed and her arms folded across her chest, "because Remus told me to."

"What?" Lily asked incredulously. "What the hell did I ever do to _him_?"

"Just listen to me," Olivia ordered. "You were awfully mean to James when you told on him."

"So?"

"Well, first off, you did something a _two_ year old would do…17 year olds don't _tell_ on people when they're naughty."

"But he-"

"I know what he did, Lily," Olivia interrupted, "but that's not the point. The _point_ is that you shouldn't have told on him. He earned a week worth of detention; add that on top of homework and Quidditch…he's pretty stressed right now."

"Oh, I see," Lily answered heatedly, "now it's _my_ fault that he's a troublemaker, got what he deserved, and is stressed. Well, he needs a serious reality check because _all_ the 7th years are stressed right now. Besides, McGonagall still would've figured out it was him."

"Yes," Olivia agreed, "that's true, she would've _guessed_ it was him, but he wouldn't have gotten a detention because no one _told_ on him." Lily just stood there, fuming; Olivia _did _have a point: she shouldn't have told on James, it'd been the wrong thing to do; but she wasn't about to admit it.

"So, what's your point?" Lily demanded.

"The Marauders were just wondering _why_ you told on James, because it's not like you, Lily…and frankly, I agree with them."

"So what? So what if it's not lime me?" Lily demanded, her voice rising. "It doesn't _prove_ anything!"

"Prove anything?" Olivia asked, her eyebrows raised; a grin slithered onto her face. "Oh…so you _do_ have feelings for Potter?"

"I do not!" Lily cried indignantly; Olivia only shook her head.

"Lils…Lils…Lils…I'm not stupid. The only reason you're going out with Brandon is to show Potter you're not interested…so he has no reason to keep asking you out-"

"That's not true!" Lily shrieked, her face burning; she should've known…Olivia was too smart for her own good.

"Calm down, Lils," Olivia said, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"That's right, you won't," Lily cried, heading towards the door, "because there's _nothing_ to tell!" She pushed open the door and wasn't all that surprised when it hit something.

"Umph! Ok…that hurt." Lily looked down and felt like puking as he laid eyes on the last person she wanted to see. James looked sheepishly up at her, but his bright hazel eyes were filled with a kind of gleam that was, no doubt, the result of the conversation he'd just overheard. Lily glanced away and stalked off towards the Great Hall where Brandon, the boy, and the _only_ boy, who was meant for her, was waiting.

* * *

"Bloody hell! That was brilliant!" James crowed, getting to his feet. Olivia smiled as she came out of the classroom, shutting the door behind her.

"Thanks," she replied, walking with James towards the Great Hall, "it was the least I could do." James grinned,

"So you think I still have some hope?" Olivia laughed.

"Yes, and lot's of it." They entered the Great Hall and James immediately spotted the Marauders sitting together at the end of the Gryffindor table. He made his way over to them and sat down next to Sirius, who immediately began questioning him.

"So, how'd it go? What'd she say? Did she find out you were eavesdropping?"

"Erm…well, when she opened the door it hit me and…um…"

"Prongs! She wasn't supposed to find out!" Peter cried, but James only laughed and waved his hand.

"But that's only the worst of it," he answered, "Olivia got her to admit that Lily likes me!"

"Keep your voice down!" warned Remus.

"Wow! Really? That's brilliant!" Peter cried.

"_But_ did she admit it straight out?" Sirius asked.

"Well…erm…no, not _straight_ out." Sirius' face fell. "But, it's _completely_ obvious," James assured him.

"Congratulations," Remus said warmly. "But now the question is, what do we do next?"

"I have it all figured out," James replied, "Polyjuice Potion."

"What?" Sirius and Peter asked in unison.

"Polyjuice Potion," James replied, "it's as simple as that. Today is what…the 22nd?" Remus nodded. "That means the full moon is soon…"

"Yeah, I'm feeling a bit peaky."

"So we can pick the fluxweed then-"

"And break into Slughorn's store cupboards," Sirius added.

"Then we can brew it in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," Peter finished, and James nodded.

"What do you think, Remus?" James asked; Remus smiled wryly.

"Sounds good to me."

"But then…what do we do with it?" Peter inquired.

"Drink it, stupid," Sirius answered; Peter glared sourly at him.

"Yes, Sirius, _I_ drink it on the day of the first Hogesmade visit, November 25, and become Brandon and go out with Lily!" James explained.

"Wait…what?" Sirius asked, scratching his head like a monkey; James laughed.

"Alright, I'm 99.9 percent sure that Lily will ask Brandon to go with her to Hogesmade. So, on the day of the trip, I drink the potion, lock Brandon in a random bathroom, and go with her instead…are you getting my drift?"

"Yes!" Peter cried enthusiastically. "I get it!" Sirius chuckled and shook his head, leaning back in his chair.

"Prongs…you are one bad boy."


	6. Midnight Escapade

A/N: Well, again, I'm dissapointed with the number of reviews I received for my last chapter, but I've decided to update. So I'd like to thank Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot and Noompjuh for reviewing!

Now…on with the show!

CHAPTER 6

**Midnight Escapade**

"You may go, Potter." James sighed and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his stiff hand which was cramping severely. He stood up to leave, but turned back at the sound of Professor McGonagall's voice.

"And I hope to never see you in here again, Potter," she said, her eyes surveying him sternly over her spectacles. James grinned.

"You say that every time Professor." She glared at him, but James could've sworn he saw her lips form a faint smile.

"Good night, Potter."

"Good night, Professor." James walked out of the classroom, shutting the door behind him, and proceeded to stroll down the corridor that headed for the dungeons, instead of the Gryffindor common room.

He entered the Potions room and wasn't at all surprised to hear strange sounds emitting from Slughorn's office. James entered the room and grinned as he saw Sirius and Peter rummaging through the store cupboards, getting ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion.

"Hey, Prongs!" Peter cried breathlessly, holding up his bulging book bag. "We're almost done. We just need to get the boomslang skin."

"And it's hiding…doesn't want to come out and play!" Sirius muttered, standing on his tiptoes and reaching into the depths of the cupboard. James cocked his head in Sirius's direction and Peter laughed.

"What's up with him?"

"I dunno…"

"Aha! Here you are, you little bugger!" Sirius cried, removing his head from the cupboard and proudly holding up a piece of boomslang skin, which he promptly stuffed into Peter's book bag.

"Alright, let's go!" Sirius grabbed James' invisibility cloak, which he'd borrowed, and swung it over Peter's shoulders. "You should use it, Wormtail…seeing as you have the bag and everything."

"I don't exactly want to land another detention…" James stated.

"Oh come on, Prongs!" Sirius cried, slapping him on the back. "Since when have _you_ ever been scared of a detention?"

"Shhh! Slughorn! He's coming!" Peter cried, and James heard him mutter something under his breath, and the sound of a wan hitting parchment.

"Damn!" Sirius hissed. "Let's go, James!" The two darted out of the classroom and were just in time too, for Slughorn rounded the bend at precisely that moment and spotted them immediately.

"Ahhh…Potter! Black! What are you two doing out?"

"Nothing Professor," Sirius replied quickly, "just out taking a stroll." Slughorn narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Well, I _should _give you two a detention…but, I'll give you a break. Now, go back up to your dormitories." James breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good night, Professor," he said, grabbing Sirius's sleeve and dragging him off down the corridor.

"Don't forget the essay that's due tomorrow!" Slughorn called after them; he waved cheerily, before heading back into his office.

"Hey, Wormtail! You still there?" Sirius asked.

"Yep…I'm here," a voice replied, somewhere off to James' left.

"Ahhh, good…wanted to make sure you had enough time to get out."

"Yeah, thanks, mate," Peter answered.

"And I totally forgot about that essay," James murmured, and Sirius laughed.

"That's alright…we can do it tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning?" James asked.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? We're due for a midnight escapade," Sirius answered, turning left into another corridor.

"Oh, really? I completely-" James stopped dead in his tracks.

The sight that met his eyes was unbelievable…stunning…absolutely unheard of…something James saw only in his nightmares. He rubbed his eyes, yearning for the image to go away, but when he opened them again, they were still there; standing in the shadow of a staircase, were Lily and Brandon, kissing fervently, their arms intertwined, and looks of utmost pleasure on their faces.

"Oh….damn," Sirius whispered hoarsely.

James stared dully at the scene before him, and watched it unfold. Brandon removed his mouth from Lily's and smiled down at her, looking, to James, like a lovesick ape who'd just got done snogging an angel.

"Wow…" he murmured, and Lily giggled.

"That was…fun, wasn't it?" she asked.

"Mhm…" Brandon bent down, kissed her again, and murmured something that James didn't catch. Lily laughed and grinned.

"Most definitely," she said, throwing her arms around him and pulling him close; that's when she spotted James. Her eyes went wide and she hastily untangled herself from Brandon's arms.

"What is it?" Brandon asked, turning and smirking as he spotted James and Sirius standing there, dumbfounded.

"Well, well, well…look who's walked in on us, Lily!" Lily, fuming, glared at James, her bright eyes emitting sparks that could hardly douse the tears that were forming in James' eyes. He blinked them away and mustered all his strength, trying to forget what he'd just witnessed.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" Lily demanded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen out of her bun.

"Well, it's not like I _want_ to be here, Evans," James replied hotly.

"Yeah…if you didn't want him to walk in on you, you could've chose to snogg someplace…well, erm…not so _open to the public_," Sirius cut in; James silently thanked him; Lily's glare faltered for a moment.

"It's ok, Lils," Brandon replied, slinging his arm around her shoulder. "I'd say Potter hers is just a bit jealous." Lily smirked.

"I daresay he is." James instinctively reached for his wand, but Brandon was faster.

"Don't even think about it," he hissed menacingly, brandishing his wand in front of James' face.

"There isn't really much to think about, dog breath," Sirius yelled. Brandon turned to face him.

"Why, you little-"

"STUPEFY!" James roared and Brandon flew across the corridor and hit a portrait of a woman making breakfast while her baby slept in his cradle.

"You woke him up!" the woman screamed, as the baby started crying, but James was oblivious. He had eyes only for Lily who was standing, speechless, staring at Brandon and then back at James.

"Don't tell, please?" James whispered hoarsely, glancing at Brandon who lay slumped against the portrait. Voices could be heard, fast approaching the spot where they all stood.

"Why shouldn't I?" Lily demanded.

"Because, I can't _stand _another week of detention, Evans," James replied hastily as the voices grew louder.

"Well, that's too bad, Potter, because-"

"Sorry, Evans," James cut in. "Stupefy!" And without another word, he and Sirius dashed away from the scene.

* * *

The cool night wind ran through the pine trees…whispering like students sharing a few giggles and then becoming silent as the teacher walked by. James basked in the coolness of the night, and a pleasurable tingle went up his spine as a lone howl split the night. The moon shown brightly on the castle, casting large shadows on the grounds; the lake rippled in the strong wind and James ran across the grass, his hooves hitting the dirt with a meaningful _thud_. He dashed into the forest, closely followed by a black, shaggy dog, a rat, and a werewolf. He tried to forget what he'd just done, what he'd just seen…but it remained fixed in his mind, like someone had branded it there. He tried to imagine how it could've been different…what he could've done…and the only way he saw that situation working out, was if _he_ had been the one snogging Lily, not Brandon. 

He stopped, turned, and shuddered as the werewolf howled towards the moon. It's bright yellow eyes turned back and fixed themselves on James. The dog barked, and together, the four Marauders, dashed off into the night.

* * *

A/N: Alright, sorry this chapter (and pretty much all my chapters) are so short…but that's the way I write. And I'm sorry if this chapter is bad, because I wrote as I went along. So yeah…review review review!

-Elise Bentwin-


	7. Hogsmeade

A/N: Ok, so here it is! The long awaited Chapter 7! Sorry I haven't been updating lately…summer was busy and when I had _time_ to write, I never really felt like it. I've had a lot of new inspirations, for fics and originals alike, so be on the lookout for a new story after this one's finished. This story will be done soon…I'm guessing probably 11 or 12 chapters…maybe more, maybe less. For now though, I **need you to review! **I have another chapter written, which I _could_ post right after this one…but I need **30 **reviews, first! I won't post it until I hit **30**!

I'm on 8 people's alert list, yet for the my last chapter, I only received 5 reviews, and one of them was from a person I knew and told to go and read it, and another was from a person who didn't even have me on their author alert list. I'd like to thank you, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot (for being a reviewer from the beginning), Noompjuh, Anonfornow, purebliss90, and i-know-all-the-wicked-lyrics (thanks, Kelly!); cookies to you all! Oh, and also to Wings for her lovely review of my first chapter!

So, here it is! Read, review, and enjoy!

Elise Bentwin

**Chapter 7: Hogesmade**

"Lily! Come on, Lily! Lily!" Olivia impatiently waved her hand in front of Lily's face and she jumped in surprise. "Lily!"

"W-what?" Lily stammered, turning to face her friend, her quill hanging loosely in her hand.

"What's wrong?" Olivia demanded, leaning back in her chair.

"Oh, erm, nothing," Lily replied, turning her face back to the fire, "nothing at all."

"Psh…yeah, right. Come on, Lily, _tell _me. What happened?" Lily was silent for a few moments has she stared into the depths of the fireplace, thinking; what _had_ happened, exactly? All she could remember was the look on James' face when he'd spotted her and Brandon, and the way his eyes had brimmed with tears…Lily's heart softened at the mere recollection of it…he'd looked so sweet…

Sweet? _What? _Lily shook her head to clear her mind…what was _she_ doing? Thinking that James Potter was _sweet_…

"Lily," Olivia said more softly, reaching across the table and laying a hand on Lily's shoulder, "_what _happened?"

"Oh, nothing big, Olivia," a voice said, and Lily looked up and met Brandon's eyes, as he leaned over her chair, his eyes twinkling. "Potter walked in on Lily and I spending some quality time together." Lily glanced at Olivia and could see she wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. Her eyebrows went up and her mouth formed a small smile and she laughed nervously.

"Oh…"

"Then, he stupefied us when he heard teacher's coming…the coward!" Lily glared at him.

"Don't call him a coward!" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Brandon looked at her incredulously and raised one eyebrow in question.

"What?"

"Erm…nothing, nothing," Lily murmured quietly, standing up. "I'm going up to bed." Brandon looked disappointed.

"But-"

"Brandon, it's _very late_, and I'm tired," Lily replied firmly.

"Alright, well…see you tomorrow, darling." He leaned over and kissed her softly before sauntering away towards the boy's dormitories.

"Darling?" Lily turned.

"Yeah…I guess," she answered.

"Psh…you know, Lily, you could do _a lot_ better," Olivia commented, gathering up her books and stuffing them into her book bag; Lily shrugged as she did the same.

"Like who, for example?" The portrait hole opened and woe and behold, in walked the Marauders, all of them bearing tired, haggard looks, not to mention scratches on their faces and arms; she noticed Remus wasn't there.

"James," Olivia whispered softly in Lily's ear as she passed her and headed up the stairs to the dormitories.

"Where's Remus?" Lily croaked softly.

"A smart ass like you should be able to figure that one out," James responded, glaring at her; she stood there, taken aback. James had just called her a smart ass! This was the first time when Lily felt that her conversation with James would _not_ lead to him asking her out.

"Come on, mate," Sirius said, grabbing James' arm and trying to pull him towards the staircase.

"Who found you and woke you up?" James demanded, his voice icy cold, as he shrugged his arm out of Sirius' grip; Peter looked up at him warily.

"Professor McGonagall," Lily replied.

"Did Brandon tell her it was me?"

"Yes," Lily responded softly, "but she didn't believe him-"

"Because _you _were hexed as well," James finished for her, and Lily nodded. She looked down at the textbooks in her hands and felt tears in her eyes. The way he was looking at her…the way he was talking…it wasn't the lovesick James she'd come to know. He was heartbroken and it was all her fault; he hated her now. But why did that matter? She hated _him_, and now that he hated her, it would work out! Lily could _finally_ get rid of the lovesick ape who'd followed her around, trying to win her heart, since 4th year! But, then _why _was she so sad?

"Goodnight," James said shortly, nodding slightly. Lily looked up and met his eyes, and then, in an instant, knew why she was so sad…why she felt so guilty. James had always been a part of her life; he'd always been there, bugging her, asking her out, and admiring her. It was something that Lily had come to expect and accept as a natural part of life; now it was over. Here he stood, a whole different James revealed, heartbroken, crushed, all because of her.

"Goodnight…James." She whispered his name softly, and was shocked to find out pleasing it was to say it…and to think it. _James…James…James…_it was such a nice name….

With a flourish of his robes, in a very good imitation of Professor Snape, he turned away and ascended the stairs quickly, without turning back; Sirius and Peter quickly followed suit. So Lily stood there, alone, in the middle of the common room for several long seconds…trying to explain to herself why there were tears running down her face and why her heart felt so heavy…she finally arrived at a realistic conclusion: PMS…yes, it just _had_ to be.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Okay, it's ready!" Sirius said enthusiastically. "Everything's set! All you need to do, is drink _this_." He handed James a small glass filled with a substance that looked like bubbly poop.

"I'm not sure if I want to do this anymore," James said, looking away from the glass in his hand and running his fingers through his hair.

"What?" Peter squeaked, beads of perspiration running down his face. "We've worked on this for _weeks_ James! You can't back down now!"

"I don't think I like her anymore…"

"Oh will you just shut it with the crap, Prongs? You _know_ you still like Lily…you know it. Sure, you were ready to kill her a couple weeks ago when you saw her snogging that gorilla, but you still love her." As James looked up into the bright brown eyes of his best friend, he smiled for the first time in weeks.

"You know, sometimes Sirius, I wish you didn't know me as well." Sirius laughed.

"Drink up!"

"Cheers!" James said, raising the Polyjuice Potion in the air, and gulping it down.

* * *

Where was he? Why was he so late? Lily stood on her tiptoes to better see the throng of students entering the courtyard. Finally, she spotted Brandon, looking slightly pale, making his way towards her.

"Brandon!" Lily called, waving. He waved back and caught up with her.

"Hey, Lily!" he said; his voice seemed strange…a bit higher than usual.

"What's wrong with your voice?" Lily asked; Brandon coughed.

"Oh erm…nothing…I just have a bit of a cold." He sniffed, rather unconvincingly.

"Well, just don't give it to me, okay?"

"Sounds good," he said, as they both showed their signatures to Filch who grudgingly allowed them to enter Hogesmade.

"Hey, wait up!" Lily looked behind her and saw Peter hurrying towards them, Sirius running to catch up.

"Get lost!" Brandon yelled, and Peter stopped, blinking stupidly. Then a smile erupted on his face and he nodded.

"Oh yeah…now I-"

"PETER!" Sirius bellowed, and he seized Peter by the collar of his robes and proceeded to drag him away. "Sorry, to bother you, Lily, Brandon."

"No, it's alright," Lily replied, "where's James?"

"Oh, erm, he's not feeling to well," Sirius replied, clapping a hand over Peter's mouth when he began to say something. "But, we'd better be off. Now, you two have fun!" And with that, he dragged a struggling, slightly suffocating, Peter down the street. Lily laughed as she looked up at Brandon.

"They were acting a bit, odd, don't you think?" she asked.

"Yeah," Brandon replied, "they were actually being friendly."

"So, where do you want to go?"

"Erm…I don't care."

"I need to get some new quills, then we can go to the Three Broomsticks."

"Ok, sounds good," Brandon answered, looking at his watch.

"When did you get a watch?" Lily asked, surprised.

"Er…what?"

"A watch," Lily repeated, grabbing Brandon's wrist and admiring the new watch that adorned it, "you didn't have one before."

"Oh yeah…erm, my parents sent it to me." Lily looked up at him and was surprised to see that he was very red in the face.

"Are you okay?" she asked, stopping, and placing her hand on his cheek. His eyes went wide and he leapt back from Lily as if he'd been branded. "Brandon, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing…just a little, erm…jumpy…nervous…yeah." Lily raised her eyebrows quizzically. "Let's just go and get those quills of yours."

"Sounds good."

* * *

James silently berated himself for his carelessness. _Relax! Be Brandon! _He had been so surprised at the sensation of Lily's touch, that he couldn't have helped his reaction; his heart thumping wildly, he followed her into a small shop where she quickly selected a few quills, paid for them, and then settled down with her in the Three Broomsticks.

"Two butterbeers, please," Lily said to Madam Rosmerta, and she began to dig in her pockets for gold.

"No, I'll pay for it," James said, slapping 4 galleons on the table.

"But you paid for our drinks last time," Lily contradicted.

"Oh yeah…but, that's alright."

"Okay, then, if you're sure." She grabbed their butterbeers and he followed her to a table situated by a window that looked out over the street. Third years threw snowballs at each other, fifth year girls looked in through shop windows, and seventh years flirted and hung on each others arms as they made their way over to Madame Pudifoot's.

"So, what do you want to be once you get out of Hogwarts?" Lily asked. James shrugged.

"Oh I don't know…something to do with the Dark Arts, but I'm still not sure." Lily nodded.

"Me neither, but I _do _want to join the Order."

"Oh yes, of course, me too."

"But I thought your parents supported Voldemort?" James would've liked to beat his head against the wall.

"Erm…well, they do, but I don't," he answered quickly.

"Oh well, a quick change of heart then." Lily laughed, and James marveled as the sun from the window danced across her red tresses.

"Erm…yeah, I suppose." To ease himself, James changed the subject to Quidditch, and they whiled away the minutes talking about who their favorite team was, their favorite player…James glanced at his watch and almost peed his pants when he saw that it was almost 12:00. He had 5 minutes before he changed back! Luckily, he'd brought with him a small hip flask, filled with Polyjuice Potion. He reached under his robes, pulled it out, and proceeded to unscrew the top.

"A hip flask?" Lily asked incredulously. "Since when have you used one of _those_?"

"Ahh, well, it's for my medicine…for my cold. And I have to take it like every hour or so, and so I decided to just use this." Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Alright then, old fashioned boy." James laughed and raised the hip flask to his lips. He was just going to pour some of the potion into his mouth, when a group of first years came scurrying by their table and knocked against his chair, making the potion fly across his mouth and chin.

"Damn!" James silently cursed, glaring at the third years. The scurried away from him, not even muttering a "sorry" or "are you alright?"

"What _is_ that medicine?" Lily asked, grabbing some napkins and handing them to James.

"Erm…I don't know," he replied. "But it helps!"

"Hmmm…" James hastily wiped at his chin and mouth…Lily was smart enough to figure out it was Polyjuice Potion. He looked back in the hip flask and was dismayed to see that only a bit remained; he drank it quickly and grimaced as he felt it ooze down his throat.

"I might have to go back up to the castle and get some more," James said, reattaching the hip flask.

"Oh, I think you'll live," Lily replied. James didn't think he would; he had no idea how long the potion would sustain him.

"Would you like to go outside now?" Lily asked and James nodded.

"Sure."

* * *

Brandon sat up and rubbed his head. Where was he? Why was he so dark? He groped around, found a light switch, pulled it, and saw that he was in a closet. Fuming, he pounded on the door and was _not_ happy to discover that it was locked. He groped in his pockets for his wand and let out a curse when it wasn't there.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" he bellowed. He continued to pound for a good ten minutes, when he _finally_ heard the lock click. The door slid open and there stood Frank Longbottom, his wand out and a puzzled look on his face.

"Parkinson?" he asked. "What are you _doing_ in there?"

"I have no idea," Brandon growled, wincing as he stretched his cramped leg muscles.

"Hmmm, well, would you like to head out to Hogesmade with Alice and I? We're going now."

"Where's Lily?"

"She left without you."

"What?"

"Yes, it's true," another voice replied, and Alice rounded the corner, "she went into Hogesmade with Sirius and Peter."

"WHAT?"

"James wasn't there," she replied quickly.

"Oh, well, still…"

"Would you like to come with us?" Frank suggested brightly.

"Oh yes…I'm coming."

* * *

They exited the pub and Lily shivered as a cold wind met them as they stepped out onto the street.

"It's pretty chilly," she murmured, and James nodded, "but it's so pretty." She sighed and glanced up at all the trees bearing their brilliant fall colors.

"Yeah," James agreed, "it is; and so are you." Lily turned and smiled at him, wrapping her arms around herself; she laughed softly.

"Why thank you." James couldn't believe it! He'd told Lily she was pretty and she hadn't yelled at him, glared at him, or…anything!

"Well, it's true," James persisted, his confidence growing as he saw they were approaching the shrieking shack. Lily giggled and James saw a slight blush creep into her cheeks.

"Well…I don't know what to say."

"You're too modest." Lily laughed again and shook her head.

"And you are?"

"I never said I was," James responded, stopping as they came up to the fence separating them from the Shrieking Shack.

"Have you ever been in there?" Lily asked.

"No," James lied, "have you?" Lily shook her head.

"Do you think it's really haunted?" They were facing each other now.

"No, do you?"

"No." They were very close.

"Then why do people say it is?" James asked.

"I don't know." Lily shrugged. "I suppose just to frighten people off."

"I suppose someone lived there once."

"Yes, they probably did." They were so close now, James could see the white lights that danced in Lily's eyes.

"Why would someone choose to live in a house like _that_?" she asked.

"Perhaps they didn't have enough money."

"Hmmm…perhaps." Lily placed her hand on his cheek.

"Or maybe they liked Hogwarts," James offered, his heart racing.

"Why?"

"Because…it was safe…or they had good memories from their time spent there." She leaned over and kissed him deeply, passionately. James wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, running his fingers through her hair, relishing the sensation of her touch; it was beautiful.

They broke apart and Lily looked up at him, her eyes gleaming; they were both breathing rather heavily. James kissed her again, softly, quickly, tenderly. A soft sigh escaped her lips and James laughed softly.

"Oh Brandon," she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder; James, for a fleeting moment, thought about telling her who he _really_ was. James ran his fingers through her hair, and whished fervently that this moment could last forever.

Suddenly, her body stiffened and she raised her head abruptly.

"What's wrong?" James asked, grasping her shoulders and looking at her face, which registered nothing but shock and surprise. James turned and felt his heart leap into his throat; there, not three feet away stood the _real _Brandon Parkinson, and not far behind him, stood Sirius and Peter, both with horror struck looks on their faces. James gulped and felt his knees begin to tremble.

"Brandon?" Lily asked, looking up at James. "What's going on?"

"Brandon! You call _him_ Brandon?" Brandon cried, advancing quickly; Sirius and Peter followed at a safe distance. "I'm Brandon, Lily, not him!"

"What?" James felt his heart cleave at the confused look on Lily's face; he could tell she was really freaked out.

"Ok, both of _you_, tell me who you are, now!" Her voice was trembling.

"I'm Brandon!" Brandon yelled. "The _real_ Brandon!"

"Prove it," Lily said softly.

"We only have to wait a bit, am I right? Another hour, and we'll find out!"

"Polyjuice Potion?" Lily asked, glancing up at James; he glanced at his watch.

"Hey! Look, he has a watch! And I don't!" Brandon pulled up his sleeve. "And he's not even denying it, Lily!" James opened his mouth and shut it quickly again; he didn't know what to say.

"Wow, isn't _this_ weird," Sirius said, coming up with Peter in tow who's mouth was a wide **O**.

"Yeah, just a bit," James said, and he laughed nervously; the look on Brandon's face was one that could kill. James felt like he was drowning in his own nervousness.

"So, which of you, is the _real_ Brandon Parkinson?" Lily demanded, surveying them both with her arms crossed.

"I AM!" James and Brandon both yelled in unison.

"This is just stupid…" Lily said. "I want the truth!" Sirius grunted and glanced quickly at James.

"Erm…we'd better go."

"Hey, look, Lily! His hair!" James felt his throat constrict. Gasping, he, Sirius, and Peter dashed past Brandon and ran down towards the street.

"NOT SO FAST!" Brandon yelled, flying after them; he was faster than all of them. Quickly, he caught up to James and tackled him; he tasted blood as they hit the street and rolled into a bed of flowers.

"GET OFF ME!" James yelled, not bothering to change his voice. Suddenly, Brandon let him go and leapt back in shock; James knew the transformation was complete.

"YOU!" he yelled, color rushing into his face. "YOU SLIMY TWO FACED JERK!" James glanced at Sirius who shook his head sadly and looked at him pitifully.

"Brandon, SHUT UP!" Brandon immediately stopped yelling at Lily's command. She hurried up to James and looked at him, completely aghast with horror.

"James?" she asked softly. "Why did you do that? You made me look like a complete fool!"

"I'm sorry, I just-" James started but Lily cut him off with a slap across the face; Peter gasped in horror.

"Wow…" Sirius murmured.

"Lemme handle him!" Brandon yelled, rolling up his sleeves.

"NO!" Lily yelled, her eyes blazing. James could've sworn her hair was emitting negatively charged particles. By now, a large crowd had gathered around them, including Olivia, but James didn't care. He had eyes only for Lily, who had tears streaming down her face.

"Lily!" Olivia cried warningly, but to no avail. She rushed James and hit low. With a groan, he sank to the ground.

"Ooooo…ouch!" Sirius murmured; Brandon started laughing.

"Would you-" But his laughter turned into a shout as Lily hit him as well; Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"Nice job!" Lily glared at him.

"Why'd you do that?" Brandon moaned, rolling on the ground.

"You big baby!" Lily screeched. "You never liked me! You never did! The only reason you went out with me was to get back at Potter!"

"And that's the only reason you went out with me, you bitch!" Brandon screamed back. Lily raised her wand and a flash of light later revealed Brandon flying through the air and landing on his back in a rose bed; he emitted a screech of pain. With a final tearful glance at James, she burst through the throng of students that had now formed around them, and tore back up to the castle.

"You alright, mate?" Sirius asked, coming over and helping James to his feet.

"Yeah…I'm fine," James murmured.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

That night, the image that haunted James' sleep was of Lily's tear streaked one…so desperate…so lost…so angry….so loving; it was hopeless, he could never have her.

A/N: Ok so do you see that little toolbar in the bottom left hand corner of the screen? Click **GO** and REVIEW! As I said before, I WILL NOT post the next chapter until I hit **30 reviews TOTAl…30…**come on you can do it!

Hope you enjoyed the latest installment!

Elise Bentwin


	8. The Talk

A/N: Thanks so much to all my wonderful reviewers! I reached 31 reviews; one more over what I'd hoped for. Cookies go to: Jamie, TheScarlettSecret, EmpressMaryLee, MariaCachucha, XxXMzVirginiaWeasleyXxX, xXDarknessFallsDeADXx, kitty richmond, me, and i-know-all-the-wicked-lyrics.

(Thanks, Kelly, for all those _creative_ pen names and _wonderful_ reviews!)

I'm sorry I didn't update right after I hit 30 reviews…there was a death at my school and I just couldn't write for a long time…

But here's chapter 8! As before, I won't update until I hit 40! **40 40 40 40! **Only9 reviews!

Read, and of course, enjoy!

**Chapter 8: The Talk**

"Password?"

"Lemon drops," Lily mumbled, wiping at her eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"LEMON DROPS!"

"Alright…alright, Miss Evans." The portrait hole swung forward and Lily clambered inside, tears blurring her vision as she stumbled across the common room, up the stairs, and into her bedroom; where she threw herself on her four poster and renewed her sobbing. She clenched her fists around her pillow and buried her face in it, trying her best to forget the feeling of his mouth on hers…his touch…the very memory drove her mad. She wasn't _supposed_ to like James Potter! She was supposed to hate him! And she did, didn't she?

It was no use; Lily, exhausted, let her body succumb to a fitful sleep.

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"Lily? Lily…wake up!" Groaning, Lily rolled over onto her back, opened her eyes, and wasn't surprised to see Olivia standing at the foot of her bed.

"What?" Lily mumbled, rubbing her eyes and propping herself up on her elbows.

"I need to talk to you," Olivia replied, sitting down on the bed.

"Not now…I'm-"

"No, Lily, _now_." Lily groaned and sank back onto the bed.

"I _really_ don't want to talk about this right now, Olivia!"

"I know, but-"

"But nothing! I really don't want to talk!" Lily cried, her voice choked with tears, sitting up again. "Please…can we talk _tomorrow_?"

"No, Lily, we need to talk _now_. I hate seeing you like this…so confused…and lost…and hopelessly in love." She smiled and Lily ducked her head and wiped hastily at the tears spilling down her cheeks.

"No…no…_no_! I don't want to talk right now!"

"Oh Lily…" Lily laid her head in Olivia's lap and her best friend held her as she cried. Olivia stroked her hair and rubbed her back as she waited for the torrent of tears to pass.

"You know, you'd be a lot happier if you just talked about this with me."

"I know…"

"So…"

"So?"

"Come on, Lily…"

"Alright, alright…" Lily sat up and accepted Olivia's offered handkerchief and quickly blew her nose.

"So, what do you think you should do?" Lily shrugged. "Oh come on Lily…"

"I don't know…go and talk to James?"

"No…not yet. I think you should break up with Brandon."

"What!"

"Lily, don't you dare pretend to be shocked." Lily folded her arms across her chest and glared at Olivia.

"Fine, I won't." Olivia smiled triumphantly.

"Breaking up with Brandon is the only way you'll be able to get to Potter."

"And what's all this crap about getting to Potter?" Olivia laughed and laid a hand on Lily's shoulder.

"Don't pretend you _don't_ like him, Lily! Don't pretend that you didn't enjoy his kiss! Don't pretend that he's not better that Brandon in every single way!" Lily scowled.

"I didn't say I was."

"Oh Lily…you're _acting_ like you are."

"So?"

"So…it's only hurting you more and more…admit it, Lily, you _do_ like him." Lily turned away briefly and glared out the window…wishing she could disappear; it was scary how well Olivia knew her.

"Ok," Lily replied, turning back to her friend, "I'll say this: I don't _like_ him-"

"Lily…"

"But I _will_ admit he's better than I thought. He's really not _that_ big of a jerk and there's a different side to him…an emotional side…that he doesn't always show…that I, well…_like_." Olivia grinned.

"Well, I suppose that's all I'll get out of you for now."

"It's going to take a lot from him to convince me that I should like him after what he did today."

"That you _should_ like him?" Olivia repeated; Lily decided to tell her everything.

"Well, it's strange, Olivia, because this new James I'm seeing is well….actually _likeable_. But it's as if I'm _scared_ to like him…because I've always hated him…and I don't want to face the facts that he _might_ just be alright, that he might just be decent. I can't explain it really."

"Hormones, hon, hormones." Lily laughed.

"But then why am I afraid to like him?" Olivia shrugged.

"Perhaps you should find out more about this _likeable_ side…see what other _likeable_ things he's capable of."

"Hmmm…I suppose."

"I think you should just allow that little voice inside of your head to take over so you can go ahead and like him."

"But-" Olivia raised her hand.

"Nothing more about this subject. The most important thing right now is to go down there and break up with Mr. Parkinson." Lily laughed.

"Alright…will do."

&(&(&(&(&(&(&(&(&(&(&(&(&(&(&(&(&(

Lily descended the stairs into the common room and carefully avoided the Marauder's glances. Brandon jumped to his feet when he saw her and came walking towards her, his eyes flashing.

"Lily, what the _hell_ happened this afternoon?" he demanded, towering above her. Lily stared straight into his eyes and for the first time realized how ugly they were: so gray and dark…nothing like James' hazel ones.

"I don't really know, Brandon-" Lily began, but Brandon cut her off.

"Well, you should! You're the one who was snogging Potter!" Lily noticed how quiet the common room had become and that everyone was watching them fight; it would be all the more embarrassing for Brandon.

"I didn't know it was him, Brandon," Lily replied steadily, trying to control her emotions that were threatening to spill over; she glanced quickly over her shoulder at James who was watching her avidly. "But, I _thoroughly_ enjoyed it." Brandon's face turned beet red and an audible gasp echoed around the room.

"What?" Brandon asked, his voice soft and menacing.

"We're through Brandon."

"What?"

"I said we're _through_. What don't you understand?"

"But…but what did I do wrong?" he asked, grasping her hand.

"Everything," Lily answered, squirming out of his grip. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going down for some dinner." With that, she turned her back on him, and walked calmly out of the common room, but not before Sirius shouted,

"Sucker!" right in Brandon's face.

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"That was pretty cool, wasn't it?" James asked, glancing down the table at Lily who was talking avidly to Alice Longbottom.

"Yeah…it was sweet!" Sirius crowed and Peter laughed; Remus shook his head.

"She handled the situation very well, I must say."

"So, is the game back on, Prongs?" James tore his eyes away from the most beautiful witch in the world and grinned.

"Oh yes…and this time, I will win."

A/N: Ok so do you see the little toolbar in the bottom left hand corner of the screen? Click on OK and submit a review! Remember, I shall not update until I hit **40**.

Hope you enjoyed this!

Elise Bentwin


	9. Detention

Wow…reviewers, thank you so much! I've gotten so many reviews!

Also, thanks to my wonderful betas, Kate (thescarlettsecret) and Kelly. You rule!

So here's Chapter 9. Enjoy!

-Elise-

**Chapter 9: Detention**

"Prongs, your potion!" At the sound of Sirius' voice, James jerked out of his reverie and glanced at his potion which was bubbling furiously and emitting a foul aroma much like that of old eggs. He wrinkled his nose and glanced quickly at the directions on the board.

"Now, Mr. Potter, where did you go wrong?" James looked up at Professor Slughorn who was bearing down on him, his mouth twisted into a grimace.

"Er… I don't know, professor."

"Evanesco!" James' potion disappeared on the spot.

"Thanks…" he murmured.

Professor Slughorn bent down and murmured,

"I think, Mr. Potter, it would be better to focus on class than pretty girls," Professor Slughorn murmured bending down. James felt his heart leap into his throat and his face began to turn beet red.

"Yes, Professor." With a quick nod and a dashing smile, Slughorn straightened up and returned to the front of the room.

"Students!" he yelled. "Pack up and bring me a sample of your potion. After that, you may leave!" James glanced behind him where Severus was dipping a vial into his potion and carefully corking it.

"Good job, Severus," Lily said, coming up to him. "Your potion looks very well done." James stared incredulously at Lily whose face had just turned a light shade of pink.

"Thanks," he muttered quickly, glancing down. Lily met James' eyes and, before she turned away with her sample, he could've sworn he saw an electric sparkle in her eyes. As Snape began to move down the aisle to turn in _his_ sample, James "stumbled" over his cauldron and smashed into him, knocking the vial to the floor.

"Sorry about that, Snivellus," he said, offering a hand to help him up. With a snarl and a flourish of his robes, Snape jumped to his feet and bore down on James.

"You filthy little-"

"Snape! Potter! There will be _no_ fighting in my classroom!" Slughorn yelled. His face as red as the Gryffindor banner, Snape returned to his desk and packed away his ingredients, trembling with indignation. He glared fiercely at James before stalking out of the classroom, his greasy hair fanning out behind him like a dirty peacock.

"Now, wasn't that too bad?" James asked, turning to Sirius who looked up at him, smirking.

"Yes, it certainly is a pity." James looked across the room to Lily who shook her head sadly and then proceeded to walk out of the classroom, the electric glint no longer there; James' heart fell.

"You're not going to get to her by harassing Snape," Lupin said, coming up to stand beside James.

"I know," James said through clenched teeth.

"Then why do you do it?"

"It's a hobby," James sighed, flinging his book bag over his shoulder.

"Well, it's going to have to end if you're going to get her to go out with you," Lupin admonished, as the Marauders darted out into the hall towards their next class, Transfiguration.

"Why do you have to be so wise, Moony?" Sirius demanded.

"It's my job to keep you in line."

"_Indeed_." James looked up and felt his heart fall into his stomach.

"Erm, hi, Lily," he said awkwardly, his hand automatically going up to his head. Sirius grabbed it from behind and pulled it back down; Lily laughed and James couldn't help but smile.

"Just wanted to remind you that we have to patrol the corridors tonight."

"Oh yeah, thanks." Once again, he could've sworn he saw a fire dancing in her eyes.

"You're welcome." Before James could open his mouth again, she had run away to catch up with Olivia and Alice. He wanted to call after her, and continue their conversation (it had been going so well!) but honestly, Mr. Popular Potter had no idea what to say.

"Good job, James!" Lupin said, and the Marauders applauded him.

"You actually seemed decent!" Peter crowed.

"You didn't act stupid!" Sirius said; James raised his eyebrows.

"You acted like _yourself_," Lupin replied, smiling.

&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)

"Today, we shall begin Transfiguring animals into _other_ animals." Murmurs ran throughout the classroom and Lily sat up a little straighter.

"Finally, something _interesting_," she heard Brandon mutter from behind her. Professor McGonagall turned her steely gaze on him at once.

"Is there something you'd like to say, Mr. Parkinson?"

"No," Brandon replied, slouching down in his chair; Lily could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head. He'd been in a _very_ foul mood ever since she'd broken up with him, and he kept trying to impress her to try and get her to "go steady" with him again; Lily didn't know much about her dates in the future, but she _knew_ Brandon wouldn't be one of them.

"Now, please pair up, and follow the instructions in your book on page 67," Professor McGonagall ordered. Lily turned to Olivia and soon, they both found themselves transfiguring their animals into various other ones: toads, badgers, ants, butterflies; anything they wanted.

"This is so easy," Brandon said, and Lily turned around to look at his owl which had the legs of a toad, wings of a bird, and the horn of a unicorn.

"Easy, Mr. Parkinson?" Professor McGonagall said, bearing down on him. "I daresay Miss Evans here could help you some more."

"We're not going out anymore, professor," Lily replied immediately, and a little thankfully, for she wanted to set things straight.

"Oh really?" Lily thought McGonagall smiled, but she must've been mistaken, because she blinked and once again, McGonagall was glaring at Peter who had managed to give his rat boils.

"S-sorry Professor," he stuttered, "I don't know what I did!"

"It's quite alright, Pettigrew," she replied, restoring his rat to normal. Peter gaped at her back as she walked away.

"I daresay she was just nice to you, Wormtail," Sirius murmured and Lupin laughed from behind him. Lily glanced at James, who was sitting next to Lupin, and admired the way his hair flipped casually in front of his eyes, and the way he bit his lip when he was concentrating. Her eyes traveled down his body to his well muscled shoulders and large hands. Were they soft? Or callused, like most Quidditch players' hands were?

"Lily dearest, you're staring," Olivia said in a fake-dreamy voice next to Lily. Lily turned around immediately, caught Olivia's eye, and they both burst out laughing.

"Concentrating quite hard, aren't you, Prongs?" Sirius asked, turning around. For James had just been watching Lily laugh. How cute she looked when she laughed, he thought. Heck, how cute she _always_ looked...

"James!" Sirius yelled, punching James in the shoulder.

Now Lily was transfiguring her monarch butterfly into a spunky calico cat. It was roughly the same color as her hair. Oh, how James wanted to run his fingers through that long, thick, red hair….

"JAMES!" This time, Sirius had to resort to sticking his finger in James' ear before he got a reaction.

"Huh?" was James' well-pursued response.

"Black; get to work!" McGonagall yelled. James' lips formed the incantation and a moment later, his owl had turned into a beautiful chocolate cat.

"Oooo, nice jobeven though you haven't been paying attention _all afternoon_!" Sirius said.

"Black!" McGonagall yelled again, swooping down on him; he cringed.

"Sorry," he murmured quickly.

"Very nice job, Potter," she said curtly, before hurrying off to defend Frank Longbottom who's owl had sprouted five inch claws.

"Now, change it _back_, Prongs," Sirius said to James.

"Is that a challenge?" James asked; Lily basked in the sound of his voice. It was just right: not too deep, and rich and warm…like chocolate! Lily! she scolded herself. Comparing _James_ to _chocolate_! What has gotten into you!

"Yes." James laughed and turned his attention back to his owl turned cat. He bit his lip and his hazel eyes stared hard at the cat.

"Come on, you can do it! Think! Think!" Sirius said softly.

"Shut up!" James said, laughing; Sirius grinned wolfishly.

A frog croaked in the back of the classroom and Lily turned slightly to see Severus staring hard at James, his eyes boring into him. She leaned out into the aisle a bit and saw the black tip of his wand pointing out from beneath his robes.

"No!" Lily cried, jumping to her feet. "EXPELLIARMUS!" Snape flew out of his desk and hit the classroom wall and crumpled into a heap of dirty black robes on the classroom floor; his wand landed next to Lily's feet. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what she had just done. Now not am I only comparing him to chocolate, she thought, but I'm turning into him!

"What is going on!" Professor McGonagall roared, storming over. Snape leapt to his feet, fire dancing in his cold grey eyes; Lily felt her knees grow weak.

"I'm so sorry, Professor! I didn't mean to, really I didn't! He was going to hex James-"

"I was not!"

"Was too, and you know it! Don't think I didn't see your wand, and your disgusting grey eyes staring him down like he was an animal in a zoo-"

"Lily, that is enough!" Professor McGonagall cried, her nostrils flaring; Lily could feel everyone's eyes on her. Snape glared icily at her, fixing his robes and massaging his arm. "As much as I hate to do this, Miss Evans, meet me tonight at 8:00; it's only fair." Lily ducked her head quickly, as she could already feel the tears coming up her throat.

"Yes, Professor, I know."

"Well, then, back to work!" No one moved. "Now!" Everyone abruptly turned back to their animals and began talking in low voices and murmurs, no doubt about what had just happened. Lily sat down slowly, and turned to look dumbly at Olivia, who only smiled encouragingly.

"It's really not that bad, Lily," she whispered. "McGonagall likes you."

"But, Olivia, it's _detention_!" Lily whispered heatedly, tears burning in her eyes.

"It's going to be ok, Lily," Olivia whispered sympathetically.

"The whole school will be talking about it!"

"Just ignore them!"

"It's going to ruin my reputation!"

"Oh Lily, stop it! A lot of people will think it's _funny_, hon. Don't worry at all. If they tease you about it, I'll take care of them."

"But what about my parents!"

"They'll understand," Olivia soothed. "They know you can't be perfect at everything. At least it's not expulsion, it's only detention; and you did it for a good reason." Lily laughed one of those laugh-sobs.

"Oh Olivia…you're the best!" This time it was Olivia's turn to laugh.

"I know."

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"Do you think she'll take it?" James asked, fingering the two way mirror.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it," Lupin replied. "I daresay she's a bit freaked out."

"We could give her a few pointers," Sirius added.

"But she might not take it," Lupin finished, "because she won't want to break the rules more than she already has."

"Oh well, it'll be worth a try!" Peter said.

"And, let _me_ do the talking," James added quickly; Sirius frowned.

"Why?"

"Well, because-"

"Because he _likes_ her, smart one. Duh!" Lupin replied.

"Wait. Did I-Could-Be-A-Professor Lupin just say _Duh_? I think I might go into shock!" Sirius yelled as he feinted faint.

"We can't say _anything_?" Peter asked.

"Well, you can say "hi" but just let me explain the mirror," James answered.

"I still don't see-" Peter started.

"Come on, Wormatil, you're not that slow, are you?" Sirius demanded, waking up from his "faint".

"Shut up!" James hissed. "Here she comes!" James whirled around and his heart fluttered as he saw Lily descending the stairs from the girl's dormitory. Her hair was done up in a loose bun, with stray hairs that framed her face and she had on regular muggle clothes: a pair of jeans with a plain light pink T-shirt and a cream colored sweater shrug; she was gorgeous, to sum it up, James thought.

"Hello, Lily," he said, stepping forward to greet her.

"Hello," she replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Um, well, first off, nice job in class today." She smiled and laughed nervously.

"Oh well, I suppose _you_ would know what it's like." James grinned.

"They're really not that bad," he assured her. "Especially with McGonagall. She usually makes you write lines."

"Your hand cramps, but it isn't too bad," Sirius said; Lily giggled.

"Well then, I can't wait!"

"It's even better when you can talk to your friends," James added, "with this." He showed her the mirror. "It's a two way mirror. You have one, and I have the other, and we can well, er, _talk_." Lily smiled.

"Oh James, that's very kind of you," she said, "but I don't want to get in more trouble."

"You were right, Moony! You _said_ she wouldn't take it!" Peter crowed.

"Well, that's alright then," James said, pocketing the mirror, disappointed inside but know that that would be her response.

"Thanks for the offer though," Lily answered hurriedly, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

"Oh, no problem. Now, have fun!" Lily laughed for the last time as she made her way over to the portrait hole.

"They're _really_ not bad at all, Lily," James said, following her. "After awhile, they become kind of a routine."

"Only for you James. But not for me."

"Well, that's good." She turned to face him.

"Well, um, good luck on all the homework," she said.

"Yeah…" Before he could blink again, her lips were on his cheek, and then he was standing alone in front of the portrait hole, with the Marauders laughing deliriously behind him.

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Her face burning, Lily scampered out of the portrait hole. She straightened her robes and looked behind her; thank God he hadn't followed her. She took a deep breath and smiled, her heart dancing with the stars she could glimpse beyond the castle windows; he _really_ wasn't that bad, he _really_ wasn't.

And with a small giggle, Lily Evans flounced off to detention.

A/N: Hope you liked it! You know the drill, I won't update until I hit 50!

-Elise-


	10. Qudditch Game

I have tried to write this chapter a total of **2** times. The first time I had James as a seeker (thank you Kelly!) and that got totally messed up. Next, something happened where I had Lily come down with some kind of "love fever" and started acting all weird around James and going to apologize to him…it was very strange, and so I gave up…I just couldn't get it right.

But, never fear, the next chapter is here! It's pretty much what I had in mind the first time I tried writing this…..so read and review and enjoy!

-Elise Bentwin-

**Chapter 10: Quidditch Game**

"GO GRYFFINDOR! GO GRYFFINDOR! GO GRYFFINDOR!" Lily yelled and cheered along with the rest of her house as the Gryffindor Quidditch team flew out onto the pitch. Lily caught sight of James as he came to a stop by the goalposts and scanned the field eagerly. Lily gave him a half hearted wave, trying to catch his eye.

"Lily, what are you doing?" Olivia asked.

"Er…I'm waving," Lily answered, blushing.

"To James?"

"Yeah…"

"Why?" Lily looked down at her gloves and became engrossed in the black thread sticking out of her left pinky finger.

"Because, she just can't get enough of him!" a voice crowed from behind Lily. She whirled around and blushed even harder as she came face to face with Sirius.

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked slowly, looking at Lily questioningly.

"Olivia, it's nothing-"

"Nothing! Nothing? What are you talking about Lillian!" Sirius cried. "The poor boy couldn't sleep last night because of what you did!"

"What did you do to him, Lily?" Olivia demanded, narrowing her eyes in suspicion; Sirius grinned.

"She kissed him!" he yelled.

"On the cheek!" Lily added desperately; it took a few moments for their words to penetrate Olivia's brain.

"You **WHAT!**" she screeched; Lily clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Shut up!" she hissed.

"Well, I'd better be off to do the commentary," Sirius said, shoving his hands in his pockets and grinning roguishly. He tried to move away but Lily caught him by the arm and sent daggers his way.

"You're _dead_," she whispered threateningly.

"What? What did I do?" Sirius whined, extracting himself from Lily's grip.

"I think you traumatized this poor girl for life, Sirius," Remus replied, walking up to Olivia and tapping her on the shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know," Olivia replied, staring blankly at Remus's face.

"Oh well…sorry about that," Sirius said. "But if Lily hadn't kissed James-"

"Did someone say my name?" At the sound of his voice, Lily felt her heart leap up into her throat; she slowly turned around, her face burning as she looked at James Potter.

"Oi! James, nice to see you! How's the weather?" Sirius asked; James furrowed his brow and ran his fingers through his already messy hair.

"Well, it could be a bit less windy…but other than that-"

"JAMES POTTER! Get over here now! We are ready to start the game!" Madam Hooch yelled, blowing her whistle several times.

"Gotta fly," James said, adjusting his glasses and looking straight at Lily. He smiled slightly and then flew off to the center of the pitch.

"See you around!" Sirius said, dashing up to the top of the box where Professor McGonagall sat, impatiently waiting for him to start the commentary.

"Oh Lily…I can't believe you did that!" Olivia said, burying her face in her hands.

"Oh Olivia…it's going to be alright!"

"Why did you do that?" Lily sighed and hugged her friend.

"Honestly, I have no clue."

"Well, the most you're gonna get out of this is just another proposal for a date with Potter!" Olivia commented, raising her head. "You just gave him more hope that you will-"

"Olivia, please!" Lily said, laying a hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's not _that_ bad! I'm glad I gave him more hope!"

"W-what?" Lily opened her mouth to reply, and then realized what she had just said.

"Er, did I just say that?"

"I'm afraid you did," Remus answered from behind her. Lily turned around and saw him smiling warmly at her; she felt her face grow red.

"Well, don't tell him that…please?"

"Why not?" Remus asked.

"Because…I-I…I'm not sure if it's true…yet," Lily responded, fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist.

"Well…let me tell you something," Remus said, slinging an arm around her shoulders and gesturing out towards the Quidditch field where James was flying towards the goal posts with the Quaffle in hand. He moved to the right and so did the Keeper, but he faked again to the left, shot and scored. The Gryffindors erupted wildly in applause. "He's really not that bad. You just have to give him a chance. Sure, he can be a prat sometimes…but so can we all; we're only human. We can't be perfect."

"I know," Lily said.

"He's just being himself…being _the_ James Potter whom we've all come to love…and hate." Lily laughed. "But really, he can be caring…and decent, and not always such a big prat. I'm sure if you-"

"JAMES POTTER SCORES AGAIN!" Sirius yelled through the microphone; the Gryffindors cheered again. "IT'S 20-0 GRYFFINDOR!"

"Thanks, Remus," Lily murmured.

"No problem," Remus replied squeezing her shoulder. "Just think about what I said."

"Oh, I will," Lily promised.

"Potter passes to Duffley, Duffley passes to Parkinson, who shoots and-" Boos erupted from Gryffindor as Brandon shot and missed the golden hoop by a good 5 feet.

"Come on Parkinson! You can do better than that!" Sirius yelled. "Or is your breakup with the pretty Miss Evans just too much for you to handle?"

"Black!" Professor McGonagall yelled, reaching for the microphone, but Black yanked it away.

"Sorry, Professor," he said as the Gryffindors laughed; Lily blushed.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT BLACK!" Parkinson bellowed from the pitch.

"Oh ho! Wanna fight?" Black retorted, earning yet another glare from Professor McGonagall. Brandon pulled up right above the box Lily was in and glared at Black.

"Sure, why not?" he asked.

"Parkinson! Get back in the game! NOW!" Madam Hooch yelled. Grudgingly Brandon flew back to join his teammates, but not before glaring hatefully at Lily.

"Alright…well, we didn't miss Parkinson much as the score is now 40-0 GRYFFINDOR!"

"BLACK!" Professor McGonagall screeched. Lily laughed and glanced up at the sky, searching for James. She found him hovering near the middle of the pitch, gesturing for Duffley to pass him the ball. He did, and James caught it expertly, flying off towards the goalposts. Lily scanned the field eagerly, cheering along with the rest of the Gryffindors. She spotted Crabbe, one of the Slytherin beaters, raising his bat and getting ready to hit the bludger…who was he aiming for?

Lily felt her heart fill with dread as she saw who was in Crabbe's line of sight: James. He raised his bat and hit the bludger."JAMES!" Lily screamed. "WATCH OUT!" All the spectators held their breath as they watched the bludger speed towards James. He raised his head at the sound of his name, but it was too late. With a sickening crunch the bludger collided with his shoulder and James keeled over off his broom and fell towards the ground; Lily and Olivia screamed.

"WHAT'S HAPPENED TO JAMES? HE'S FALLING TOWARDS THE GROUND! SOMEBODY, HELP HIM!" Sirius bellowed, but he needn't have worried. Dumbledore stood up in the stands, raised his wand, and lowered James slowly to the ground. Suddenly, cheering erupted from the Slytherin end of the field. Lily tore her eyes off of James and looked up and saw Keiser, the Slytherin seeker holding up his hand in triumph. Remus held up a pair of binoculars and focused them in on Keiser. Seconds later, he lowered them with a grim look on his face.

"What the hell is Keiser doing?" Sirius asked, glancing at Professor McGonagall and waiting to be reprimanded. But she wasn't paying attention. She was staring down at James who lay sprawled on the field, unmoving.

"Someone help him!" Peter squealed peering over the edge of the box. "Someone help James!"

"Oh wait…he's caught the Snitch…well done," Sirius grumbled, cursing under his breath. Cheers erupted from the Slytherins, but Lily could've cared less. She stared down at the pitch where Professor Dumbledore was bent over James, examining his shoulder; Lily couldn't take it anymore. Grabbing Olivia's hands, she dragged her down the stairs behind the box and onto the field.

"Lily, stop! What are you doing?" Olivia demanded, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to a stop.

"I have to see if he's alright!" Lily shrieked, worming out of Olivia's grasp and running towards him. Olivia sighed and quickly, but grudgingly, followed her.

"Since when have you cared, Lily?" she asked, but Lily didn't reply, because she herself didn't even know.

"Lily…" James called out weakly as Lily ran to his side and knelt beside him.

"Oh, James…are you alright?" Lily asked softly, kneeling beside him and instinctively grabbing his hand.

"Yeah…I'll be fine." James winced as Dumbledore gently touched his shoulder.

"It's definitely broken…and probably some torn ligaments," the professor said. "We'd better get you to Madam Pomfrey as soon as possible."

"I'll help you," Lily volunteered, clutching James's hand tighter and pulling him to his feet; his hand was hot: the sensation made her heart thump wildly in her chest.

"Thanks," James murmured, wincing as he tried to flex his other hand.

"You shouldn't try to move it…it'll only hurt it more," Lily said promptly; James grinned.

"Yes, Dr. Evans." They stood there for a few more moments…Lily staring deep into his eyes. _What is wrong with me? _James glanced down at her hand, which was still tightly clutching his, and then looked back at her, a flirtatious smile dancing on his face; Lily immediately let go.

"Oh, well, I'd better go," she stuttered.

"Come, Mr. Potter, to the Hospital Wing," Professor Dumbledore said, who had been watching the exchange with much amusement. With a last smile at Lily, James turned and followed Dumbledore off the field, gingerly holding his arm, followed by his teammates who were all more concerned for their Captain than the fact that they'd just lost to Slytherin. Everyone on the team was there….except for Brandon. Lily looked around and spotted him on the edge of the field, talking avidly to Crabbe and Snape; angrily Lily strode towards them.

"Lily…" Olivia said warningly. "What are you _doing_?"

"I'm going to yell at Crabbe," she replied. As she got closer, Lily thought she saw the gleam of gold in Brandon's hands…she was not mistaken. He counted 3 galleons and dumped them into Crabbe's outstretched hand.

"Nice hit, Crabbe," he said, nodding to Snape who gave him another 3 galleons. "Too bad it didn't hit his head." Crabbe shrugged.

"Well, I _tried_," he protested.

"Yes, you did," Snape agreed. "But next time, aim for his head, or we're not giving you any money."

"Aim for his _head_?" Lily shrieked as she bore down upon the three boys, all of whom were a good head taller than she was. "His _head_?" Brandon smirked.

"Well, yes of course Lily. You see, the plan was-"

"To kill James?" Lily finished, in an unnaturally high voice. "How dare you!"

"_How dare you_!" Snape mimicked; he smirked at her. "Crabbe here will do anything-" But Snape never finished his sentence for the next moment he was clutching his cheek, which was bright red where Lily had slapped him.

"Lily…" Olivia whispered warningly from behind her.

"Filthy little Mudblood!" Snape hissed, removing his hand from his cheek. "You'll pay for that!"

"Oh indeed?" Lily responded. "I'm surprised you could afford to pay Crabbe 3 galleons you greasy slimy git!"

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" Lily felt pain shoot across her chest and she felt blood run down her arm, before everything blacked out.

&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)

Snape slumped down on one of the couches in the Slytherin common room, twiddling his wand between his thumbs. Why had he hexed Lily? Why had he caused her so much pain?

_Because she insulted you! _Snape shook his head…that wasn't a good reason….to hex _her_ at least. Beautiful Lily Evans…with her shining red hair and deep emerald eyes. Snape buried his head in his hands…he could never have her…never ever. After what he saw on the Quidditch pitch, he knew it was folly. The way they'd looked at each other…they looked perfect together; no one would ever look good with Severus Snape…the school outcast.

That was why he'd joined up with Lord Voldemort…the power he gained was more than Lily or James could ever have…the feeling of unity he shared with the Dark Lord.

_Lord Voldemort and the Half Blood Prince_…now _those_ went perfectly together.

A/N: **!SPOILERS!** Now, _I_ think, that after reading Half Blood Prince, that Snape is good…but I wanted to put some "teenage angst" in here…and I think that when he was at Hogwarts, he was probably totally devoted to Lord Voldemort. I just want to know what made Dumbledore trust him…but that will come later. Hope you enjoyed it! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

-Elise-


	11. The Prize

I actually made this chapter up at the spur of the moment…I needed a little "fluff", as most of my friends would say. So here it is, Chapter 11. This is probably my quickest update in the history of my writing career (which consists only of posting stories online and writing stories for my own enjoyment).

So to clear up some confusion for hpfanficreviewer, James did **NOT** catch the snitch in my previous chapter. It was Keiser, the Slytherin seeker.

**QUOTE: **_"What the hell is Keiser doing?" Sirius asked, glancing at Professor McGonagall and waiting to be reprimanded. But she wasn't paying attention. She was staring down at James who lay sprawled on the field, unmoving._

_"Someone help him!" Peter squealed peering over the edge of the box. "Someone help James!"_

_"Oh wait…he's caught the Snitch…well done," Sirius grumbled, cursing under his breath. Cheers erupted from the Slytherins, but Lily could've cared less. _

So I think that clears up most of your confusion…and I don't think I ever had Lily mention that James was a Seeker. Could you possibly give me the chapter number/name where you read it?...because I'm pretty sure I never said that. But thank you very much for your review! I'm glad you like the story! Also, thank you Kayane Joel and Anne () for reviewing!

**Chapter 11: The Prize**

"Will she be alright?"

"Did you see all that blood?"

"Snape, the little bastard! Why I oughta-"

"Sirius! Watch your language!" Lily opened her eyes and slowly several heads came into focus, all of them peering keenly at her.

"Lily, are you okay?" Olivia asked. Lily nodded.

"I feel fine," she said, sitting up slowly. "What happened?"

"Well, Snape cursed you…it was horrible. There was blood everywhere. You passed out immediately, and Dumbledore brought you here."

"She's awake! Everyone out!" Everyone gathered at the edge of Lily's bed, including some people she didn't even know, scattered, groaning, as Madam Pomfrey bore down on her.

"What about James?" Sirius asked, glancing at the black haired boy who lay unmoving in his bed. "Do you think I'm going to leave him here-"

"He's asleep, Black!" Madam Pomfrey glared. "He'll be let out of the Hospital Wing tomorrow."

"What about me?" Lily asked worriedly. "Do I have to stay the night?"

"Yes." Lily groaned and slumped back on her pillows.

"But I have TONS of homework!" she cried.

"Only _you_, Lily would worry about homework," Sirius said; Lily glared at him.

"I'll bring it to you Lils. It'll be ok," Olivia offered.

"But why do I have to stay?" Lily complained. "All he did was curse me-"

"With an extremely powerful spell!" Madam Pomfrey finished. "You lost a lot of blood…I just want to make sure you're alright."

"Besides, Lily, you get to spend some extra quality with James!" Sirius added.

"Shut up," Lily snapped, but she couldn't help a little blush creep into her face. Madam Pomfrey noticed this and clucked her tongue disapprovingly as she straightened up.

"Now, everyone out!" she cried. "Be gone! These patients need their sleep!"

"I'll bring your homework by after dinner, Lily!" Olivia said quickly before she ran out the door with Madam Pomfrey on her heels, followed by a reluctant Sirius.

"Now, Miss Evans, you would do well to get some sleep," Madam Pomfrey said, turning back to her.

"But I just slept!" Lily protested.

"Miss Evans! When have _you_ been one to take back to an adult?" At this remark, Lily fell silent and glowered at a picture of a nurse on the wall.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled; Madam Pomfrey shook her head, and a small smile flitted across her lips.

"Olivia will bring your homework by soon, I'm sure," she said, and Lily just nodded, staring down at her hands on her lap. Madam Pomfrey bustled out of the room and into her office, living Lily to sit idly and sulk.

&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)&)

James groaned and turned over onto his back. Lily glanced sideways at him and lowered her quill away from the Transfiguration essay she was writing. His hair stood up at all angles possible, and his left arm was bound in a splint. Lily looked quickly back at her essay and began scribbling away, paying no attention to what she was writing. She heard James' fumbling for his glasses and his sharp intake of breath when he put them on.

"Evans?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Snape hexed me when I slapped him after the Quidditch game," Lily replied simply, keeping her eyes lowered.

"You _slapped_ him?" James asked, astounded. "Why?"

"He paid Crabbe money to hit the bludger at you…and he was going to kill you."

"So you slapped him?"

"Yes." Lily glanced at him, but quickly looked away when she found him staring avidly at her, a mixture of awe and anger in his hazel eyes.

"What spell did he use?"

"Sectumsempra." James's mouth dropped open.

"The slimy bastard!" he yelled, jumping out of his bed. "I'm going to kill him! For real this time!"

"James!" Lily cried, pushing her essay out of her way and scrambling out of her bed as James started running towards the door.

"The two faced, slimy, good for nothing git! He'll pay for this!

"James, stop it!" Lily cried, grabbing for his arm and restraining him from madly dashing out into the corridor in his pursuit of Snape. "Calm down! It's no big deal, I-"

"No big deal! Are you kidding me? This is a huge deal, Evans! Snape _hexed_ you!"

"Yes, I _know_," Lily said, speaking slowly. "But I'm alright and-"

"But he still hexed you! He _hurt_ you Lily! Do you have any idea how extremely mad that makes me?" James yelled yanking out of her grip and dashing towards the door and wrenching it open. He was running so fast, that he rammed his injured shoulder into the wall of the corridor and sank, moaning, to the ground.

"Jay-ames." Lily shook her head, following him out. She knelt down beside him and turned him over onto his back. "Are you alright?"

"I'll-be-fine," he muttered through clenched teeth, clutching his arm and scrambling to his feet. "I'M GOING TO _KILL_ THAT BLOODY SON OF A BITCH!"

"Watch your language!" Lily shrieked, but he paid no heed. Stumbling to his feet, James attempted again to make another mad dash down the hallway, but Lily grabbed the collar of his shirt, and with strength she didn't know she had, she swung him around and forced him against the wall. He winced as his back hit the cold stone, and glared fiercely at Lily.

"James please stop, I-"

"You're asking me to refrain from beating the crap out of Snivellus, who just hexed you? Lily, dearest, what you are asking is _impossible_." Lily opened her mouth to speak, and then realized what he had just said.

"Wait, you called me "dearest?" she asked. James thought for a moment and then smiled mischievously.

"Why, yes, I did." Lily glared at him and the smile immediately dropped from his face.

"Whatever," Lily said irritably. "My point _is_, that you shouldn't go and hex Snape, because it won't do you any good and-"

"Lily, _dearest_," James said, accenting those two words and grinning, "what have I told you? It is impossible-"

"Nothing is impossible, James Potter! Not even for you to not hex Snape! Now, get back in the hospital wing!" Lily yelled, exasperated.

"No, I-" Lily sighed, feeling as if she were talking to a 2 year old.

"Get back in the hospital wing!" she yelled again pointing her finger in the direction of the door and her bright eyes glinting fiercely. James opened and closed his mouth several times, before finally succumbing to her will and trudging back into the hospital wing muttering something about "women" and "that time of month".

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Lily? Are-are you awake?" James asked softly through the darkness.

"Yes, I am," Lily mumbled, rolling over onto her side so her back was to James. She heard him sit up in bed and fumbling for his glasses on the bedside table. "Whaddya want?"

"I need to talk to you," James replied.

"Why?" Lily sighed, pulling the covers closer about her. It was silent for a few moments before James spoke again.

"Why don't you like me?" Lily's eyes grew extremely round and her heart skipped a beat. _Thank God it's dark in here..._she thought. Should she tell him? If she regretted it, she could just tell him that he'd dreamt it and that she didn't remember it at all…although that _was_ awfully mean. _I'm going to do it_…she thought. The words were coming up her throat, she could feel them burning to escape: _I like you James…a lot_.

"What do _you_ think?" she asked. She made a face at herself and her heart screamed at her stupidity. Was that the best she could do? She was a hopeless romantic.

"Well, I'm not sure. I know you think I'm a git-"

"Because you are."

"-and that I'm arrogant-"

"Again, because you _are_."

"-and that I hex people just to show others how good I am-"

"Because you do!"

"-and that my head is too big and full of air-"

"Because it is."

"-and you're surprised I can get my broom to fly me around the Quidditch Pitch."

"Because I _am_." _Where did that come from?..._she thought. He read me as if I were a book!

"Why though? You don't even _know_ the real me," James protested, sounding a lot like a 5 year old pleading not guilty in front of its parents. Lily groaned and sat up.

"The _real_ you?" she said. "Is there _another_ James Potter that I don't know about?" But even as she said the words, Lily knew it was true…she'd seen the other James Potter. She'd seen the James who'd been crushed that she had gone out with Brandon and snogged him at every possible opportunity. The James who was actually rather cute, with a normal sized head, and who made her heart flutter- _Lily! Stop it!_...her brain screamed. Was this the _real_ James that he was talking about?

"Let me change the question...what can I do to _make_ you like me?"

"Nothing," Lily replied automatically, and her heart clenched at the look of disappointment on James's face…it was the other James coming through again. The other James who wanted her to cry right then and there for all the horrible things she'd said and thought about him. "Wait…I change my mind." James's eyes lit up.

"What can I do?"

"Well…first off, you can be nicer to people, _Snape_ for instance."

"But-"

"Potter, you're the one who wanted to know, and so I'm telling you the truth." James sighed.

"Alright fine…tip number one to get Lily to go out with me: be nicer-"

"Hey, _what_! Just because you follow these rules doesn't mean I'll go out with you!" Lily cried, seeing his true objective. James grinned sheepishly.

"Well…I _really_ would like you to go out with me…" he mumbled, staring at his blankets. Lily raised her eyebrows.

"You truly are desperate, aren't you?"

"Desperate?" James repeated, raising his head again. "_Desperate_? You call wanting to go out with you _desperate_?"

"Well…" Lily paused, not sure what to say; James shook his head in exasperation.

"Wanting to go out with a girl like you, Evans, is _normal_. It'd be plain weird if someone didn't want too. You're the smartest girl in school, not to mention the prettiest. You have tons of friends, are all the teacher's pets, and are looked up to by everyone."

"Oh, well…that's nice," Lily mumbled, taken aback.

"And yet, Lily, you drive me absolutely _crazy_," James finished, sitting up on his knees, "because you won't go out with me, despite how many times I have asked you. I think I should win a trophy for Asking Lily Evans Out The Most and Being Rejected and have it put in the trophy room, so all of Hogwarts' future students can see what a nuisance their head student really was."

"It's not like you're not a nuisance either!" Lily cried, stung by his last comment.

"Yes, I know, Lily," James replied, "which is why I am asking you: what can I do to change so that you will at least _consider_ me as not such a git?"

"I've already told you," Lily said angrily. "Be nicer to people."

"Well, that's only one thing," James protested.

"I don't think you could _handle_ more than one thing to change about yourself, Potter. Besides, being nice to people is your main problem. You are always unbearably rude to people…especially Snape."

"But he deserves-"

"He does not deserve _anything_!" Lily cried. "Do you realize how many people look up to you? Do you realize that every one of the boys here at Hogwarts would _love_ to be a marauder? Do you even consider what the little first year Gryffindor boys are learning from you? The other day I was watching them talk, and that little blondie…Ichabod Arson, I think his name is...ruffles his hair in a _PERFECT _IMMITATION OF YOU! You are by far the most popular boy at Hogwarts, and all you do is- is- BE RUDE and-and SCREW AROUND!"Lily took a deep breath and glanced around the room, waiting for James' response, but none came for several minutes. She looked back at him and saw that he was grinning…grinning in a way that made goose bumps appear up and down her arms; his mind was forming a plan, and Lily wasn't so sure she was going to like it.

"What are you grinning about?" Lily demanded, slightly unnerved. He looked quite cute when he grinned like that….

"I have a deal," James replied, running his fingers through his already tousled hair and smugly meeting Lily's eyes.

"What deal?" Lily asked slowly, warily watching him.

"The deal is this: if I don't hex Snape for a week…if I am _nice_ to him and I don't tease him or _anything_…you will go out with me." Lily sat there in stunned silence.

"What kind of deal is _that_?" she demanded. "I don't benefit at all! And how did Snape, of all people, come into this?"

"Can you only ask questions tonight, _dearest_? Of course you benefit! You get to go out with _me_!" James replied, spreading out his arms. Lily sighed, ready to scream.

"No, no, no! I will not be giving up myself as a prize just for you to act like a natural human being."

"Oh come on, Lily! Please?...You would make me one _very_ happy man." Lily grimaced.

"No, I repeat, I will _not_." James groaned and flopped back onto his pillows.

"Why do I even try?" he mumbled, sighing heavily.

"Well, I do still encourage you to be nice to other people…_including_ Snape," Lily said timidly, trying to comfort him.

"It won't do any good."

"James-"

"Just leave me alone!" James yelled, and Lily immediately fell silent, almost frightened. How she hated hormones….how she hated herself at that moment.

-Alright so this chapter didn't really turn out the way I wanted it to (basically like all my other chapters) but oh well…now please **review review review!**

-Elise-


	12. Christmas Surprise

Thank you IamtheHEARTthatYoucallHome, Kayane Joel, and Pokeman Trainer for reviewing. And Jasper, just for you, something is going to "happen" in this chapter.

So…on with the show!

**Chapter 12: Christmas Surprise**

The days passed, and James, to Lily's surprise, managed to keep his "deal", and didn't hex Snape for a week. Feeling slightly shocked, Lily declined when he asked her out, and spent hours after that crying in her dormitory. What was _wrong_ with her? Why couldn't she just bring herself to like him? One more thing was all her heart needed…one more little thing to show her that James was truly meant for her.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The snow drifted down from the sky and settled on the rooftops of all the buildings in Hogsmeade, coating them with a beautiful layer of white, glistening in the little sunlight that dared to peek through the clouds above as Lily trudged her way through the snow. It was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, and Lily tried to enjoy it, but couldn't bring herself to. All her pent up emotions were boiling inside her like Longbottom's potion on any given day, and she felt ready to explode, like his potion often did.

"Lily, come on…let's go get a drink, shall we?" Olivia asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. "It's freezing out here."

"It's not that cold," Lily mumbled, shoving her hands in her pockets; Olivia smiled.

"Come on, Lils…let's go." Lily looked up at all the people around her and cringed inwardly at all the couples she saw, holding hands and smiling at each other…everyone except her. Even _Brandon_ had managed to find a new girlfriend. Sighing heavily, she ran her fingers through her hair and glanced blearily around.

"Alright…let's get a drink," she agreed, and Olivia gently steered her in the direction of the Three Broomsticks, taking notice of her fragile state and Lily appreciated that more than she could say.

They entered the building, and Lily inhaled deeply at the smells that swirled towards her, enticing her to stay forever. She pulled her hands out of her pockets and rubbed them together as Olivia quickly ordered three butterbeers and brought them over to a table in front of the fire.

"Here…this will make you feel better," Olivia said, pushing a butterbeer towards her. Lily didn't doubt her and quickly drained half the goblet. She grinned at her friend who only shook her head.

"Told you," she said.

"May I join you two ladies?" Lily and Olivia's head jerked up and saw Remus Lupin standing there, a small tentative smile on his face. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Oh, no of course not!" Lily admonished, moving over to make room for another chair. "Feel free!"

"Thanks," Remus said, pulling a chair from the table next to them and sitting down. He removed his coat and draped it over the back of his chair, and with a contented sigh leaned back and inhaled deeply.

"Wow, it's warm in here," he said; Olivia laughed.

"Would you like a drink?" she asked, moving to get up.

"No, it's quite alright," Remus answered, laying a hand on Olivia's, who's face immediately turned bright red.

"Alright, then…" Lily watched the whole exchange with amusement and caught Olivia's eyes and smiled knowingly. Olivia blushed and looked away; suddenly, Lily was feeling _much_ better.

"Where's James?" she asked. Remus looked at her with surprise, and Lily quickly raised her butterbeer cup in front of her face and drank from it so he couldn't see her flaming cheeks.

"He's shopping."

"_Shopping_?" Lily laughed, nearly choking on her drink.

"Yes, for Christmas."

"I didn't know he _could_ shop."

"Actually, he is quite good at it…the best of all the Marauders, by _far_." Olivia emitted an extremely high pitched giggle, and Remus looked at her curiously. Her face turned bright red and she quickly stood up from the table.

"Umm…excuse me, one moment please," she said before dashing away towards the restrooms; Remus followed her with his eyes, nothing but concern etched into his face.

"Is she alright?" he asked, turning back to Lily.

"She'll be fine…just a little _woozy_ I suppose."

"Butterbeer makes her woozy?" Remus asked incredulously; Lily shrugged and laughed.

"I dunno…she has a very low tolerance for alcohol."

"But butterbeer isn't _very_ alcoholic," Remus pointed out.

"Well…" Lily paused, wanting to yell _Because she likes you!_ , but she knew that wouldn't have been cool. "I'll go and check on her." Lily got up from the table and walked towards the restrooms. She opened the door and saw Olivia leaning against the wall, her face bright red.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked, laying a hand on her forehead.

"Oh, I'm fine…just a little sick. I think I've had too much to drink, that's all." Lily giggled, flinging her tresses over her shoulder and grinning at her friend knowingly.

"I don't think it's the drink that's making you sick, my dear." Olivia let out a nervous, high pitched laugh.

"Will he hate me now that I've acted like such a dork?" Lily shook her head.

"Of course he won't! Now, let's get back out there!" Smiling a thin smile, Olivia glanced at her reflection in the mirror before following Lily back to the table, where Remus sat waiting.

"Are you alright?" he asked as they approached the table.

"Yes, yes, yes…I'm fine…just a bit too much to drink, I guess." Remus looked at the butterbeer, then at Olivia and back again, and then seemed to resign to the fact that she was affected by a slightly alcoholic drink and grinned.

"Well, if you're not going to finish it, then could I have a sip?" Olivia's eyes lit up and Lily could tell she was positively delighted at the prospect of her crush drinking some of _her_ butterbeer.

"Oh yes, of course!" Olivia replied, pushing the glass towards Remus.

"Thank you." He raised the glass to his lips and took a quick swig, and carefully set it back down on the table. "Well, I'd better get going…the guys should be done shopping by now." Lily grinned.

"Tell James I'm impressed," she said.

"Will do," he said, standing up and pulling on his coat. Olivia, looking slightly crestfallen, met his eyes and smiled slightly.

"Nice talking to you," she said. Remus smiled back and Lily could see Olivia's eyes grow wide.

"And you," he replied. "See you girls back up at the castle." Waiting until the door of the store had shut behind Remus, Lily broke out into a fit of laughter.

"Shut up!" Olivia protested, going red in the face and slapping her friend's arm. Lily looked up at her friend and smiled, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Oh Olivia…we are both such _hopeless_ romantics!"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"December 23, only two more days until Christmas!" Olivia crowed; Lily moaned.

"Yes, Olivia, I know. Now please, could you leave me in peace so I could finish this essay?" Olivia sighed and plopped down into one of the chairs by the fire.

"Fine, I'll shut up."

"Thank you," Lily breathed turning back to her essay. She raised her quill and poised it over the paper, but was once again rudely interrupted.

"Do you think Remus will get me something?" Olivia asked.

"Olivia…" Lily said warningly. "_Please_, I am trying to finish this! And to answer your question, yes, I'm sure he will."

"Oh good…I hope so! Because I got him something!"

"Yes, I know you did," Lily replied slowly, trying to be patient. "Now _please_ let me concentrate!"

"Oh Lily, you're so boring! I'm going down to dinner. Aren't you hungry?"

"No."

"Fine…I'll see you later." Whistling the tune to Jingle Bells, Olivia made her way out of the common room and down to the Great Hall, finally leaving Lily with some peace and quiet. Most of the students had gone home for Christmas break, but a lot of the 7th years had stayed, including Lily, Olivia, and the Marauders. The common room was sure to be packed tonight, so Lily wanted to get her essay done _now_, so she didn't have to worry about it later. She turned back to the essay and focused on the words she had written, and began scratching away at the parchment, as the fire cracked and snapped, casting black shadows on the common room walls, enveloping Lily with a sense of security and warmth she loved so much, a sense only known at Hogwarts.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Where's Lily?" James asked as Olivia sat down at the Gryffindor table alone.

"In the common room writing an essay," she replied, buttering a roll.

"She's _already_ doing homework?" he asked incredulously. "We just got on break for God's sake!" Olivia shrugged.

"She's like that…claims the common room will be too noisy tonight so she wants to get it done." James shook his head and laughed.

"Wow, she's really dedicated, isn't she?"

"Yup, it's scary sometimes," Olivia agreed through a mouthful of bread. "She needs to learn when to take it easy."

"Well, I'm going to go and see if she needs any help," James said standing up from the table; Olivia frowned.

"Umm…that might not be such a good idea. She doesn't like being disturbed."

"I won't disturb her," James replied, swinging his book bag over his shoulder.

"But-"

"Don't worry, Olivia. I'll make sure she doesn't get mad at me."

"That might be kind of hard," Sirius pointed out, "considering how she spazzed at you in the hospital wing and hasn't talked to you since." James glared at him.  
"Shut up, Padfoot," he said.

"Oh, but she's talked _about_ you," Remus added. James turned to him and raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" he asked, hardly daring to believe.

"Yeah, I forgot to tell you, but last weekend at Hogsmeade she said she was impressed that you could shop." James grinned.

"See guys? Finally, I think she's realizing that I'm not _so_ bad." Sirius snorted into his casserole.

"Sure, sure, sure. And that's why she's upstairs working on an essay, rather than spending time with you."

"Encouragement, Padfoot! Encouragement is all he needs!" Remus reprimanded, and Olivia giggled. He glanced at her, smiling, and her face immediately turned bright red. James noted this with great amusement, but decided to tease Moony later.

"Well, wish me luck!" he said, striding towards the doors of the Great Hall.

"Good luck!" the Marauders chorused.

"Don't make her mad!" Olivia yelled. Chuckling, James made his way out of the Great Hall and up several flights of stairs to the tapestry of the Fat Lady, beyond which lay the Gryffindor Common Room where his one true love sat waiting. Grinning, James gave the password to the Fat Lady and stepped into the common room….empty except for a lone sphere of red sitting in front of the fire. James quietly crept over to the back of the couch and peered over Lily's shoulder at the piece of parchment she was hastily scribbling on. It was filled with writing, but most of it was crossed out, with side notes and asterisks all over. She was nearing the bottom the bottom of the parchment, and her writing became small and tiny as she tried to fit all of her essay onto it.

"There, done," she murmured leaning back against the couch; James hastily moved his hand and remained silent. Lily held the essay out in front of her and James could easily see what she had written…and it was _not_ an essay…that much was obvious.

_Dear James,_

_I am extremely sorry for acting like such a jerk to you all these years…I really don't know why I did it. Because, James, I have come to realize_

"What are you _doing_!" James was interrupted by a shriek and the letter was jerked out of his view. James stood there speechless, trying to process what he'd just read.

"Wha-what?" he muttered, shaking his head and trying to clear his mind.

"How much did you read?" Lily demanded fiercely.

"Just the first sentence," James replied.

"Liar!" Lily screamed. "Otherwise you wouldn't be standing there like such an idiot! The idiot that you _are_!"

"But you said-" James started, not wanting to ruin his dream.

"Screw what I said!" Lily yelled, throwing the note in the fire. "I made it all up! I NEVER MEANT IT!"

"Sure Lily, sure," James answered, regaining his cocky attitude. He couldn't believe it!

"I DIDN'T!" Lily screamed, tears beginning to roll down her face. "NOT A WORD OF IT WAS TRUE! I MADE IT UP! ALL OF IT!"

"Then why did you write it down? I think you're the one lying, Lily." James knew he'd gone too far. With an exasperated howl, Lily tore angrily up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. James stood there in the center of the common room for a few moments afterwards, trying to process what had just happened. Did Lily really like him? Did he have hope?

He glanced up the stairs and wished feverishly there was a way he could get up there. He would climb to the tallest room in the tallest tower, and up the longest flight of stairs, if only to take back what he had said and comfort Lily Evans.

"I hate my life," James muttered, throwing himself down on one of the couches. "Hate it hate it hate it…" It was with the image of the irate redhead dancing before his eyes in the flames of the fire, that he dozed off.

&&&&&&&&&&

"Wake up Lily! It's Christmas! Open your presents!" Lily sat up just in time to catch the large package Olivia pelted at her. She glanced at it blearily, her heart skipping a beat when she recognized James' messy scrawl. She hastily put the present aside and opened the others: a sweater from her mother, a book on Defensive Magical Theory from her father, a tampon from Petunia, and a box of chocolates from Olivia.

"Thanks, Olivia," Lily said, tearing open the box. She selected a caramel filled one and popped it in her mouth, letting the warm smooth sensation slide satisfyingly down her throat.

"Who's that from?" Olivia asked, gesturing towards James' present.

"Uhhh, James," Lily said quietly, speaking his name in naught but a whisper. She hadn't seen him since last week, when she'd yelled at him for reading her note. She had been more embarrassed than angry, but her temper had gotten the better of her judgment (her prefrontal cortex obviously wasn't fully developed yet, as Olivia had said when she'd told her) and had exploded at him, once again.

"Well, open it!" Olivia said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Um, I dunno…"

"_Lily_…come _on_! It can't be that bad! And besides, if you don't like it, just throw it away!" Lily stared blankly at the package.

"Open it _now_, or I'll open it for you!" Swallowing hard, Lily carefully undid the wrapping to uncover a small white box.

"Jewlery?" Olivia asked, coming to sit next to her on the bed. Lily undid the lid and gasped at what she saw. Embedded in a pad of velvet lay the most beautiful necklace Lily had ever seen. A silver chain with diamonds all along it, with tanzanite in the middle of every one. It shimmered and threw shadows on the walls as Lily held it up to admire it.

"Oh my god…" Olivia breathed; she stared dumbfounded at the necklace. Lily glanced back at the box and saw a small note attached to it:

_My Dearest Lily,_

_Whatever you do, please do not chuck this gift and note out the window quite yet. What I have to say is extremely important. Lily Evans, I have fallen in love with you so many times, I've lost count. Call me immature, say my head is big, do whatever you please. But I will still love you. I hope, with all my heart, that what you wrote in that "essay" was, and is, true. But I will understand completely if it's not. I want you to know that after this, I will stop bugging you. What I want most is for you to be happy…with or without me._

_**James**_

Her eyes brimming with tears, Lily laid the necklace gently on the bed, stuffed the note into the pocket of her robe, donned it, and ran down the stairs.

"Lily, where are you going!" Olivia cried, following her out.

"To find James!" Lily yelled back. She didn't have to search long: she saw him sitting in front of the fire in the common room, with his head in his hands, as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She stopped and hastily tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"James," she said softly. He looked up and his eyes lit up as he heard her. He stood up tentatively.

"Hi…" Fighting back tears, Lily ran to him and threw her arms around him.

"I love you," she breathed into his ear. She laid her head on his chest, and she felt him grin into her hair. She raised her face and before she knew it, was kissing him deeply and passionately, forgiving him for all the things he'd ever done.


	13. Mistakes Only Make Us Stronger

Oh my goodness… I am so sorry I haven't updated in **so** long! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I have been so busy these past few weeks, it's unbelievable: soccer twice a week, play practice every day after school, piano exam, variety show, homework, and stress. I apologize deeply…but don't despair, for the next chapter is here!

First off, I would like to thank Biabe Tendou for reviewing **_every_** chapter! Thank you ever so much! And more cookies (virtual of course) go to Kayane Joel, Darkwing731, SeussicalIsLove, Pokeman Trainer, Dóri, WhiteCamellia, and Milo. Also, thank you to my wonderful betas: Kate and Kelly (TheScarlettSecret).

Now, I would just like to say that this next chapter is especially significant for me, and I made it up at the spur of the moment…because I just thought I needed it in here...so on with the show, er _story_.

**Chapter 13: Mistakes Only Make Us Stronger**

The next few weeks for Lily were pure bliss. The news spread quickly throughout Hogwarts that James and Lily were going out, and students listened in shock as they heard the tale of what happened in the common room Christmas morning. (It now said that Lily and James had proceeded to make love in front of the fireplace. Lily quickly stomped that rumor).

They'd been going out for only a month and a half, and yet Lily already knew James was the one. Her confidence went to an almost unbearable peak because of all the glares she received in the hallways from all the "hopefuls", and spent the hours satisfied, knowing her boyfriend was wanted by many, but _she_, the infamous Lily Evans, had won. She'd won him, James Potter, the heartthrob of Hogwarts. They were _together_…it was hard for her to dare to believe, but she dared, and had never been happier then when being loved by someone as magical as James.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Nearing their two month anniversary was when Lily began to notice some changes in James… some changes that affected her as none had affected her before: they made her have second thoughts. James' ego inflated big time, but Lily forgave him, seeing as his ego was usually always on the big side. But then other things started to happen… things that Lily couldn't ignore, no matter how hard she tried.

Lily knew James was a heartthrob, and other girls constantly flirted with him… and he tried his best not to flirt back, but he didn't always succeed. One day, he ranted to Lily about how Isabella Ranjo had come up and hugged him after potions class, congratulating him on being able to make Doxycide.

Lily was tempted to tell Olivia, but she decided not to… convincing herself that it wasn't a big deal. She only nodded when James told her, and laughed hesitantly. But her feelings were soothed a few days later, when, after being hugged by Isabella's cousin Sara after charms class, he told her that he still loved her more than anything. And so Lily let the incident slide.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Ugh… it's so cold in here!" Olivia said, rubbing her arms as they entered the common room on a cold Saturday afternoon in January.

"Mhm… but at least I have a sweatshirt!" Lily crowed, and Olivia stuck her tongue out at her.

"Why isn't the fire on?" Olivia asked, poking the logs with her foot. Lily casually pointed her wand at the fireplace and spoke words a first year would know, and had to look twice to make sure there actually _weren't_ any flames.

"Hmmm…. it must be malfunctioning."

"Maybe the House Elves are rebelling, and are trying to freeze us all to death." Lily laughed, and plopped into an arm chair that sagged under her weight, throwing a blanket to Olivia.

"Uh, I doubt that…. hopefully it'll start again soon."

"Man it's cold in here!" Sirius bellowed as he entered the room, followed by the rest of the Marauders.

"Join the club, Sirius!" Olivia said with a frozen giggle. Sirius grabbed for the blanket Olivia had been holding, much to the girl's protest.

"I'm serious, I'm gonna freeze to death!"

"Yes, you are Sirius," James replied, grinning, kissing Lily's cheek quickly. He glanced at Olivia and saw her rubbing her arms feverishly and glaring at his friend. "Would you like my sweatshirt, Olivia?" He grabbed the sleeve and prepared to pull it off.

At first, Olivia looked like it might be a good idea, but then she glanced at Lily, turned back to James and replied,

"Oh, no thanks, James… I have one upstairs. But thanks for the offer anyway." Lily sat there, feeling as if someone had just slapped her. _What! James had just offered Olivia **his** sweatshirt! __**His** sweatshirt! He wasn't supposed to offer it to Olivia; he was supposed to offer it to **Lily**! What was going on?_

Lily glanced up at him, and could tell he didn't know he'd done anything wrong. And why would he? Lily was being stupid, and acting like a very possessive girlfriend. It was _alright_ that James had offered his sweatshirt to another girl… He was just being nice to her, which was a pleasant change. It'd be alright.

But it wasn't. Having a boy offer you his sweatshirt, or any article of clothing for that matter, was one of _the_ cutest gestures a boy could do… and him having Lily as a girlfriend and offering it to another girl? What was _wrong_ with him!

Lily knew she was overreacting and it was no big deal. James would quit acting like this and come around. Or so she hoped.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Over the weeks, things didn't improve. James got more and more cocky each day, talking and laughing with his fan club, all of whom shamelessly flirted back. And to make it all worse, he did it all in front of Lily's eyes.

He even went back to hexing people, convinced that Lily loved him so much, she'd never break up with him, no matter what he did. But Lily wasn't so sure. She was getting so fed up with his stupidity and carelessness. He didn't make her feel any better either when he said he loved her, because she wasn't entirely sure he meant it.He said it so carelessly, so freely, without any emotion behind it to prove his words true. He constantly talked about other girls, and how they hugged him nearly every day, but Lily didn't have the heart to yell at him, confused as she was. What with James acting like he was, and loads of homework every night, Lily was ready to crack.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She had to talk to someone: Olivia.

Lily normally didn't write notes, and always paid attention in class. But this was an exception. During History of Magic, Lily pulled out a piece of parchment and began to write, conscious of the fact that James was sitting behind her and could easily read what she was writing:

_My Dearest Olivia, _she began

_I'm having second thoughts about this whole James business. He has changed so much lately. His ego is HUGE, so huge, I can hardly stand it. And he is constantly ranting about how he is hugged by so many other girls, and he has gotten unbearably cocky. I just don't know how much more I can take. A few weeks ago, when he offered you his sweatshirt, really made me mad as well… it was a huge wake up call for me. Do you think I'm being stupid/overreacting? I mean, I know him offering you his sweatshirt was no big deal… but just think about it! He's **my** boyfriend, offering **you**__his sweatshirt. I'd like to thank you for saying no… you saved me tons of tears._

_Oh… and he's also started hexing people again. What am I going to do? He isn't the James I said yes too… he is different. He's changing… but I know he can't help it. I mean, the flirting and stuff he can, but his ego, well, I knew it'd go up when he started going out with me. He has just changed so much… a lot more self confidence (if that's even possible)… but he is just **different**. And I don't know what to do… he isn't the James I knew back at Christmastime._

_Please, Olivia, I need help._

_Love,_

_**Lily**_

Satisfied, Lily folded the piece of parchment and scrawled her best friend's name across the top… and she found herself hoping that James had read what she had written. How else was she supposed to tell him?

&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Man… she's gorgeous._ James thought, staring at the back of Lily's head. Her red hair was done up in a loose bun, and strands of it hung down across her shoulder blades. What did her hair feel like? Was it smooth? Brittle? Coarse? Slimy? Laughing to himself, James reached out and gently ran his fingers over a select few strands: it felt exactly as he'd imagined, smooth as ice cream. Grinning to himself, James leaned back in his seat, content to know everything was perfect.

He heard the scratching of a quill and looked around. Who would be taking notes during History of Magic? James looked up and laughed silently. It was probably Lily. He peered over her shoulder, hoping to take a few notes himself, so he could at least try and pass the exam. He glanced hastily up at Professor Binns before looking over his girlfriend's shoulder. But what he saw weren't History of Magic Notes.

_My Dearest Olivia, _he read

_I'm having second thoughts about this whole James business._ Then she shifted the paper and he couldn't read anymore. But that was enough for him; he didn't need, or want, to see anymore. He sank slowly back in his chair, the room blurring around him. Suddenly, he felt sick… _majorly _sick. He needed to get out… he needed to go throw up. Everything was so hot… gross… useless. He needed to get away.

But he couldn't… he had to sit there, dying every second, wondering what in the world he'd done.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Lily entered the common room late that night. She'd just gotten done tutoring some fifth years in Transfiguration for their O.W.L.s and she still had tons of homework, but she wanted to talk to Olivia first. No, she needed to. It was hard enough waiting since History of Magic, but then tutoring… she _really _needed this talk.

She ascended the stairs to her dorm and quietly opened the door, not wanting to disturb anyone. Olivia was the only person in the room, sitting on her bed, obviously waiting for her. Lily dropped her books on her bed and sat down, looking expectantly at her friend. Olivia tied her hair up in a sloppy bun, sat down across from Lily, folded her legs, and said,

"I read your note." Lily nodded. "And I don't think your being stupid at all." She breathed a sigh of relief… thank God her friend understood.

"So, what should I do?"

"Before you decide, I need to tell you something." Lily's heart froze.

"What?"

"James came up to me after dinner and told me he'd read part of the note… the first sentence." Lily's breath caught in her throat and she had to mentally tell herself to breathe.

"W-what?"

"Yeah," Olivia replied, shaking her head. "He was totally confused… he said he didn't know what he'd done to make you say that, and that he was very sorry… and that he loves you more than anything." Lily took a deep shuddering breath and let the tears come.

"Oh my God…" she sputtered, "what have I done?"

"Sweetheart…" Olivia soothed, pulling Lily into her arms and letting her cry.

"Oh Olivia," Lily sniffed, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. "What am I going to do?"

"Well, what do you _want_ to do?" Lily closed her eyes. She knew what she wanted to do: stay with James, and comfort him forever and ever. But was that what she _should_ do?

"If he's not the person you said "yes" to, then maybe you should, _well_…" Olivia said softly, her eyes radiating concern and sympathy, finishing the sentence for her.

"But… I feel bad. Because I'm totally overreacting… he could've done worse things…" Lily's voice trailed off and she glanced down at the necklace James had given her, and the tears renewed themselves. She buried her head in Olivia's shoulder.

"I _hate_ boys!" she sobbed.

"So do I hon… so do I."

&&&&&&&&&&&

Late that night, Lily stole down to the common room, hoping to get some homework done in the quiet and stillness of the deserted common room. But when she came downstairs, there was one person still awake: a tall, muscular boy sitting in front of the fire with his head in his hands and, for once, it didn't look like he was trying to mess it up. Lily took a deep breath and cleared her throat, causing James's head to jerk up and for him to leap to his feet.

"Oh, Lily…" he breathed, coming towards her. "I'm so sorry, for whatever I did. I didn't think I did anything, but obviously-"

"Shhhh…." Lily whispered, laying a finger across his lips. Her sub consciousness was telling her how soft they were, but she wasn't going to listen to it. Not yet, anyways. "It's alright. What you did doesn't matter. I feel so bad… because I was totally overreacting." James pulled her hand away.

"Overreacting or not, I _want_ to know what I did, so I can fix it. I just can't stand knowing I hurt you Lily." Lily sighed and sat next to him on a nearby couch, and they talked the night away: she told him what he'd done wrong, and almost died when he started crying. They blamed themselves, not each other, for the situation (James for being a prat and Lily for overreacting), and they comforted, caressed, and loved.

"I'm so sorry, Lily," James murmured, hugging her once again.

"It's alright, James."

"You sure?"

"Mhm… positive." She raised her head, her sub consciousness reminding her of its earlier message and kissed him quickly. He grinned, and wrapped his arms more tightly around her.

"I love you Lily."

"I love you too, James… and this is only going to make us stronger."

"What do you mean?"

"Our mistakes, James… they _will_ make us stronger."

"They will?" Lily looked up at him again and nodded with a small, sad smile. He looked so cute when he was confused.

"Yes, James, they will." James waited a moment, pondering, before breaking the comfortable, soft silence.  
"I'm gonna have to be pretty damn strong then, aren't I?" James flexed his arm, considering.  
Lily let out a cross between a sigh and a stifled laugh, and hit him on the same arm playfully. "Shut up, you prat."  
"Bookworm," James rebutted. He waited a second, and added, "I love you, Lily Evans."  
Lily's world exploded. He said he loved her… He had a thousand times before, but this was different. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice, and feel it in his touch. This time there was emotion. This time, it was real. It didn't take a moment's hesitation before she replied in the same way,  
"And I love _you_, James Potter."


	14. Hidden Secrets and Dancing Dreams

I only got three reviews for my last chapter, and I think (or I _hope_) that's because the link sent out in the Story Alert wasn't right. When I received it in my inbox, it took me to an inactive link… so I hope that was the case. Anyways, thank you TheScarlettSecret, Dongwoo (), and Biabe Tendou for reviewing. And cookies to my lovely beta, Kate (TheScarlettSecret).

And, now on with the story!

**Chapter 14: Hidden Secrets and Dancing Dreams**

_The fire crackled and shadows danced on the walls like uninvited ghosts. The woman sat on the duvet, hunched over, her head in her hands… long, dark locks spilling over her hands. On the floor lay a small bundle of cloth, with the unmistakable form of a human. _

It was a baby.

_The cloths were stained dark, and the smell of blood permeated the room. _

Was it possible to smell in dreams?

_The woman raised her head and howled to the ceiling. Portraits covered the walls, and the flames briefly illuminated one of a handsome dark haired man, a roughish smile on his face, his arm around a person obscured by the shadows._

_The woman's sobs split through the air, ripping it, shredding it… the door opened and shut and the woman raised her head, her bright eyes dull and subdued through her veil of tears. Screaming, she threw herself at the newcomer, whose bright red, snake-like eyes merely laughed as his wand cut through the air. The hysterical woman landed next to the baby, screaming all the while…_

"Lily! LILY! WAKE UP!" Gasping, Lily sat bolt upright, hitting heads with Olivia. Moaning, she sank back onto her pillows, noting the tears streaming down her face and her sweat soaked pajamas.

"Oh God…" she muttered, putting her hand on her forehead and closing her eyes, "my head… my aching head!"

"Here, drink some water," Alice said, grabbing the pitcher and filling a glass for both her and Olivia, who was holding her head in her hands while sitting on the edge of her four poster.

"I'm sorry, Olivia," Lily said between sips of water.

"It's alright," she said, gingerly patting her head. "Are _you_ alright?" Sighing, Lily placed the now emptied glass on her bedside table.

"Yeah… just a bad dream." _A really bad one…_ she added silently to herself.

"Are you sure you're alright? You were screaming something _awful_." Alice looked down at Lily, her large blue eyes filled with concern. "It sounded like someone was dying."

"Yea… because they were," Lily replied.

"Who?" Olivia asked. Alice stared breathtakingly at her.

"It was…" Lily thought for a moment. Who _had_ died? Who _was_ that woman? She blinked as recognition dawned in her already hurting head, making it ache dreadfully.

"Yes?" Olivia prodded, for Lily had fallen silent as she'd come to a horrible realization.

"It was _me_," Lily whispered. The word "me" echoed eerily around the room and Lily felt her heart grow cold.

"Wait… _what_?" Olivia asked, frowning. "_You_ died?

"How?" Alice squeaked, wringing her hands.

"Well, I don't know if I actually died… but I was screaming…"

"Yes, you most definitely were," her best friend agreed.

"No, no, in my _dream_! Voldemort was there and there was a picture of James on the wall… and a dead baby on the floor…" Lily's voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying, the horror of it all. Gasping she closed her eyes and cried.

"Lily, what's _wrong_?" Olivia cried, flinging herself onto Lily's bed.

"It was so horrible…" she whispered. "It was horrible…" With a sympathetic hum, Olivia wrapped her arms around Lily and let her cry into her shoulder.

"Shhh… shhh…" she whispered. "It'll be alright, Lily, it'll be alright." After awhile, Lily calmed down and laid back down on her pillow.

"You feeling better?" Alice asked softly, rubbing at her eyes where light shadows had begun to form.

"Yes, yes… better… thank you," Lily murmured, half delirious. She closed her eyes and immediately reopened them as the image of Voldemort flashed across her eyes. Whimpering, she buried her head into her pillow, trying her very best to erase the dream from her mind.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So, Moony, you ready for the full moon?" Sirius asked, spooning some eggs into his mouth. "Tonight's the night!"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Remus replied, sighing. He didn't feel like eating breakfast today; the time was near.

"Er… guys?" Peter squeaked. "Ummm… I can't make it tonight."  
"What?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"I said I can't make it tonight."

"I know what you _said_," Sirius snapped, "but why can't you?"

"Umm…" Peter shifted in his chair, his beady eyes darting around the Great Hall. "I-I have to study… yeah, study."

"Psh, study my ass-"

"Sirius…" Remus warned.

"I'm really sorry!" Peter implored. "Truly… but I can't go."

"Not like you ever do anything anyways," Sirius replied coldly, draining his Pumpkin Juice.

"Sirius!" Remus reprimanded sharply. He turned to Peter. "That's alright, Wormtail, I understand."

"Oh thank you, Moony… thank you," Peter said before scooping up his books and scampering out of the Great Hall.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him," Remus admonished, turning back to Sirius.

"And why not? It's not like he ever really _does_ help you… James and I mainly do all the work."

"You and James are _a lot_ stronger than Peter… physically and mentally. Keep your comments to yourself if you have nothing good to say. He doesn't need all this shit you're giving him. He has enough on his plate already." Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, _Mum_." Remus glared at his friend.

"You'd do well to listen to my advice, Sirius. That tongue of yours going to get you in lots of trouble one day."

"Whatever, Moony… it's just, I don't trust Peter anymore."

"Why not?" Sirius sighed.

"He's been acting really strange lately, always going off to the library, _supposedly_."

"Why don't you think he's telling the truth? It's not like going to the library is such a terrible thing." Remus had never really though of Peter as being _capable_ of lying. He'd always been so small and innocent; always the one needing to be protected.

"Since when does Peter actually study on his _own_?" Sirius demanded.

"Maybe he's maturing," Remus offered, earning a snort from his friend.

"Yea… right, that'll be the day." Remus glared at him. "Anyways, I think Peter might be seeking friends elsewhere… like from _others_ who don't see the light like we do."

"What?" Remus asked, his fork falling from his mouth, his head tilting to the side, and his face contorting in a way that typically meant "What on Earth is going on inside that loony-bin of a peanut-sized brain of yours!".

"Okayokayokay," Sirius said, molding the words into one as he put his hands up a bit in defense. "Lemme say it this way: I think Peter is hanging out with Voldemort supporters…" He glanced around and lowered his voice. "Like _Slytherins_…" Remus' eyes narrowed.

"He's always so shifty around us, and always going off to the "library". And I've checked the Marauders Map a few times and, get this, he's never there. He's always hanging out with Snape and… _Bellatrix_." Sirius spat his cousin's name like it was poisonous.

"Well, what can we do about that? We can't _force_ him to NOT support Voldemort. It's his choice." Sirius glared around the Great Hall, deep in thought.

"I just… I just don't want him to go over and become like them."

"You actually _care_ about Peter?" It was Sirius' turn to glare at his friend.

"Yes, enough that I don't want him to support Voldemort." Remus sighed.

"No one wants their friends to, Sirius, no one does. But, I think if we brought it up with him, he'd probably pee his pants thinking you'd kill him or something." Sirius laughed dryly.

"Yea, he probably would. But _still_… I feel bad. I think he's doing it to get power; to show us that he _can_ do something without our help."

"Well, we can't prove that he actually supports Voldemort just that he hangs out with those who do," Remus pointed out.

"He will in no time." Sirius stood up from the table. "I'm going to talk to him tonight."

"No, Sirius," Remus replied, standing up as well. "I don't think you should."

"Why not?"

"Let Peter figure out his consequences… he needs to grow up and make his own decisions."

"But…" Sirius's face was screwed up into an emotion that Remus couldn't read.

"What, Sirius?"

"I'm worried," he whispered.

&&&&&&&&&&&

That night, Lily couldn't sleep. She'd told no one else about the dream and it'd haunted her all day. She'd been tempted to tell James, but decided against it, seeing as it would probably only worry him. And he needn't worry about her… no; Lily Evans could take care of herself.

The wind moaned outside and tree branches scraped against the windows. Shivering Lily pulled her covers closer about her, trying to erase the face of the Dark Lord from her head. But every time she closed her eyes, she could see his bright red eyes, his sneering mouth… his dark, sinister laugh…

Lily couldn't take it anymore. Swinging her feet out of bed, she donned her slippers and bathrobe, and softly treaded out of the dormitory. The Common Room was empty, just as she'd suspected, and she made her way past the dying embers of the fire and up the stairs to the boy's dormitory. She pushed open the door, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness once again, she was surprised to find that three of the beds were empty.

Peering into the occupied beds, Lily realized that James, Sirius, and Remus were all missing… why? She laid her hand on Peter's shoulder and gently shook him awake.

"Whuuut?" he murmured groggily.

"Shhhhh, Peter, it's me, Lily."

"Lily? What're you doing here?" Peter murmured, sitting up and pulling his sheets self consciously around him.

"I need to speak to James," Lily whispered urgently, kneeling down on the hard floor. "Where _is_ he?"

"He's out with Sirius and Remus… at the Shrieking Shack."

"_What_!" Lily sat back on her heels. _The Shrieking Shack? What the heck were they doing there? _ Peter gasped and swore quietly.

"Lily, you have to _promise_ me you won't tell them I told you! Promise!"

"What's the big deal?" Lily asked, slightly unnerved to see Peter so shaken up.

"Swear to me Lily!" he whispered hoarsely, his breath coming in labored gasps, his eyes wide with fear. "They'll kill me if they found out I told you!"

"James wouldn't kill anyone!" Lily admonished.

"Sirius would! Oh please, Lily… please! Don't tell!" Peter grasped her hand and his eyes pleaded silently with her.

"Alright, I won't tell…" she whispered. "But why are they at the Shrieking Shack?" Peter shook his head.

"Can't tell, good night," Peter said quickly, turning over in his bed and tucking the sheet tightly around himself. He wouldn't even make a single noise, no matter how many questions Lily asked. And, of course, this only made her more curious. Sighing, she got up and made her way over to one of the three empty beds. On the bedside table stood a gold picture frame, illuminated by the bright moon that had moved in front of one of the windows. Lily picked it up and her heart melted as she saw it was a moving photograph of her and James at Hogsmeade. He had both his arms around her and they were both smiling and laughing. Then he picked her up, spun her around, and kissed her. Snow fell gently from the top of the picture and little third years raced around in the background.

"Mmmmm…" Lily smiled and placed the picture back on the bedside table. She felt much better now… although still bit troubled at why James was at the Shrieking Shack at _this_ hour. But no matter… she knew James would never do anything _too_ dangerous.

----Thanks for reading… now please please PLEASE hit the button down there that says **GO** and submit a review!---

-Elise Bentwin-


	15. Betrayed

Special thanks to all who reviewed: puppyluver12, RA, Darkwing731, SerentiyRose016, Biabe Tendou, and Dongwoo, Pokeman Trainer, and ur bf () (love you too!). You all made my day. Also, HUGE HUGE **HUGE**, unbelievable thanks to my amazing beta, Kate: TheScarlettSecret. After abandoning fanfiction for awhile, she has recently resurfaced and is writing a fic called _Seventeen Secrets_. If you want to read an excellent story, go and read that one.

And in response to some of my reviewers complaining that the boys don't talk like boys really do: I need suggestions then. Should I have them calling each other fags every other sentence? XD Next chapter I'll try and make 'em seem like _real_ boys.

**Chapter 15: Betrayed**

Lily awoke the next morning to the sound of her alarm clock buzzing noisily in her ear. Groaning, she sat up and switched it off, yearning to murder the birds twittering incessantly outside the window. Groggily, she got out of bed and stared at her reflection in the mirror across the room. A huge sigh escaped her lips and she ran her fingers helplessly through her mane of tresses; helplessly tangled and spilling haphazardly everywhere. Only a shower and a blow dryer could fix them… and Lily didn't feel like doing either of them. She _really_ needed to get more sleep.

_Screw it_ she thought. _I'll just put it in a ponytail_. And she did just that and was proud when she was ready in 20 minutes instead of her usual 40.

"You're ready already?" Olivia asked in surprise, emerging from the bathroom with a towel wrapped securely about her.

"Mhmmm," Lily replied, dabbing a bit of blush on her cheeks.

"And yet, you still look beautiful," Olivia said wistfully, her hair dripping and leaving a trail on the stone floor as she made her way over to her vanity.

"Oh Olivia, you're beautiful too."

"That's what you always say," she said, grabbing her brush and running it through her hair.

"You _are_," Lily persisted. "It's just that all the guys are dicks and haven't realized it yet!"

"Except for Frank and James," Alice cut in, sitting up in her bed, grinning, her blonde hair frizzing about her face.

"Yes, Alice," Lily replied, blushing, "except for Frank and James."

"Meh, I'll just grow up and become a spinster," Olivia said dejectedly, waving her wand casually at her bed. It made itself, but the pillow ended up at the foot of the bed. Olivia threw it against her headboard, resulting in a soft bang against the wall, and glared at herself in the mirror.

"Is someone PMSing?" Lily asked softly, going over to stand behind her best friend. Olivia nodded grimly.

"It's that time of month, Lily, dearest." Lily laughed and spun Olivia's stool around so they were facing each other.

"Want me to help you with your makeup?"

"Sure," Olivia replied, "not that it'll do much good. But, it's worth a try, I suppose." Neither Lily nor Alice were phased by Olivia's comments… they knew she didn't mean them.

"Oh Olivia, sweetheart, don't be so hard on yourself. Life isn't all about boys anyways."

"Ha! And that's coming from _you_?" Olivia shook her head in exasperation.

"Stay still," Lily reprimanded, brandishing an eyeliner pencil. "Or I'll have to hurt you."

"You wouldn't dare." Lily grinned.

"Oh, you'd be surprised."

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"Oi, James! You coming to breakfast or not?" James shook his head.

"I'm going to wait for Lily." Sirius sighed, shaking his head.

"The man is madly in love, I swear! Peter, Remus, let's go." James flopped down on one of the couches and watched his friend's retreating backs, a bemused smile on his face.

_Sirius has no idea how in love I am_.

Just then, there was a loud laugh from the top of the stairs, followed by several shouts and squeals. James furrowed his brow. He could hear Lily's laugh above the rest: loud and sure, light and quick.

"Oh, Olivia, come _on_! It's alright. Here, stay still." Lily said, and James heard a groan from Olivia.

"You sure you have the spell right this time?" Olivia asked. Lily laughed.

"Yes, I'm sure." _Did Lily just screw up a spell? Whoa!_

"Yes! Thank _God_! I'm saved!" Olivia yelled. The voices were drawing nearer now.

"It wouldn't have been _that_ bad if you'd have had to walk around like that. The stain wasn't big… before Lily messed it up." James recognized Alice's high voice immediately and shook his head. It was amazing what girls thought about. Didn't they realize that no guy _cared_ whether they had a stain on their robes or not?

Finally, the trio reached the bottom of the stairs and Lily's face broke into a huge grin as soon as she spotted James waiting for her. She rushed into his arms and he held her tight.

"Good morning, Lily," he murmured into her hair.

"Morning to you too! You look tired, are you alright? Where were you last night?" Lily asked. The questions came in such a rush that it took James a few moments to comprehend them, tired as he was from their Midnight Escapade. But when he _did_ comprehend them, his eyes widened and he felt his heart drop to his knees. Lily saw the expression on his face and furrowed her eyebrows.

"H-how'd you know I was gone?" James asked, hardly daring to breathe… had Wormtail told her?

"Peter told me you were at the Shrieking Shack… with Remus and Sirius," Lily responded and James breathed a sigh of relief. He could make a little white lie out of this, no big deal.

"Oh, yeah… we were there planning a prank. For… for Valentines Day."

"Oh, really?" James could tell he hadn't fooled her. _Damn_! For once he wished she wasn't so smart. "Why'd you have to go to the Shrieking Shack? Wouldn't the Common Room have sufficed?"

"Well, it wasn't private enough and-"

"James, you can't even get _in_ to the Shrieking Shack unless it's through Hogsmeade… and you can't do that! That's … that's… trespassing!"

"Yea… but we had to. The Shrieking Shack is way more private and safe and-"

"James," Lily demanded, her hands on her hips, "is there something you're not telling me?" James gulped.

"No," he replied, his heart cringing at the lie. Lily's eyes narrowed.

"Fine," she said tartly, "I'll trust you." Her eyes softened and she laid a hand on his shoulder. "I just want to make sure you're safe." James laughed.

"Oh Lily, you know I'd never do anything stupid."

"Heh, I'm not so sure about that." James gave a roguish grin and wrapped an arm around Lily's waist.

"Now, why would you think something like that?" Lily narrowed her eyes and playfully stuck out her tongue.

"I have my reasons."

"I'm sure you do." And together the two lovebirds set off for the Great Hall.

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Peter glanced over at the rest of the Marauders who were playing a game of Exploding Snap. He watched as the tower of cards burst into flames… immediately dowsing James in a pile of soot.

"Yeah!" Sirius crowed, jumping up, knocking a bunch of his books onto the floor. "I win!" Spitting, James wiped his face with the sleeve of his robe and glared at his best friend.

"Shut up, Padfoot," he grumbled. "I've still won more times than you!"

"At least you've won," Peter murmured bitterly. As always, no one heard him.

"James! What happened to you?" Lily came over and Peter could see she was having trouble stifling her laughs.

"I lost," James mumbled.

"And I won!" Sirius yelled, spinning around with his arms in the air. Lily grinned at her boyfriend.

"Did James Potter lose? _The_ James Potter? My goodness," Lily exclaimed, her hand playfully over heat heart. "I don't think I can take the shock!" She burst into laughter as James lunged for her, trying to grab her arm. She pulled away and winked at him.

"Later, dear. I have to tutor!" James frowned.

"Fine. When you come back, Sirius will be covered with this… stuff!" He stood up and shook out his hair like a dog, his glasses flying askew.

"Oh, of course… of course. See you!" Lily called, heading out of the portrait hole.

"Bye!" James called back, his face falling as soon as she disappeared from sight.

"Oh, come on Prongs. Why the long face? I'll play you again!" Sirius said.

"Alright, and I'm going to win!" The two friends then sat down immediately to resume another heated (literally) game.

Peter watched the whole scene, his heart filled with envy. There sat James and Sirius, the two most popular boys in all of Hogwarts… and the best looking ones too. Then there was Remus, every teacher's pet. He got all his assignments in on time and was always on his best behavior… most of the time. He too, was good looking, and found attractive by many girls throughout the school.

Then there was him, plain old Peter Pettigrew. Ugly dumb Peter Pettigrew. He was failing nearly all his classes and was deathly afraid to ask for help. James was too lazy, Sirius was too impatient, and Remus was too busy studying and doing his homework. And if there was a spare moment where he wasn't doing those two items, he was too tired. No one cared about him; Peter had convinced himself of that by now. To the Marauders, he was just someone they could trod upon and be better than… 100 of the time. He was their puppet. He showed the school that the Marauders were better than everyone else. He was nothing but the rat that helped freeze the Whomping Willow every full moon.

Oh, how he longed to show them that he was powerful. How he longed to show them how he _could_ do some magic without help. But no, if he told them he'd joined in supporting Voldemort they'd cast him out. He'd never be a Marauder again. Not that he enjoyed being a Marauder, but it did give him a bit of status in the school, being "best friends" with Remus, Sirius, and James. But Peter had decided to take matters into his own hands. He was 17 years old for God's sake! He could make choices for himself. And his choices were made. Looking at the scene before him, Peter's last regrets and worries evaporated immediately.

A fire of hatred welled up in Peter's heart so suddenly it scared him to think of it… but it sat there and burned brighter and brighter until he felt it might explode like a volcano. His mind made up, he went up to his dormitory to drop off his books and then out of the common room to the library where Lily was tutoring… of course, as usual, without being noticed.

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Peter entered the library and took a seat in the corner of the room where he could still see Lily working patiently with a young girl. Now if only the Marauders could have patience like her… then maybe Peter wouldn't be so scared to ask for help. But he knew that Lily probably didn't have time to help him… even if she wanted to. They worked for quite a long time. Peter feared he'd doze off, tired as he became. But finally the girl left, a bright smile on her face and Lily stood up to leave. Here was his chance.

"Hey, Lily!" he called, his voice cracking. He blushed and made his way shyly towards her. She smiled warmly at him.

"Yes, Peter?"

"Um… well, there's something I wan-need to tell you." Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Yes?"

"It's about James… and where he and the rest of the Marauders were last night."

"Oh really?" She frowned, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "James told me they were planning a prank… for Valentine's Day."

"He's lying," Peter blurted, surprised at how easy the words came out.

"What?" Lily asked incredulously.

"They… they were helping Remus." Peter grew more confident as he went. He'd never felt this confident before. It empowered him. _Being mean isn't as hard as being good_, he thought.

"Helping him do what?" Peter could tell Lily was worried.

"Transform…" he lowered his voice, "into a werewolf." Lily drew a sharp breath.

"Remus is a-a- _werewolf_?"

"Yea," Peter breathed, bending closer. "Every full moon, Sirius, James, and I go and help him through his transformations in the Whomping Willow… so he doesn't get consumed by his wolfish mind. I didn't go last night because I was too tired. But that's what they were doing." He leaned back and was filled with satisfaction at Lily's face. Her mouth hung open slightly and her hands clutched tightly at her books as she comprehended what Peter had just said.

_Good job, Peter. You just betrayed your friends. Do you feel better now?_

In fact, Peter felt only worse… but only by a little bit. Quickly, he forced his guiltiness out of his heart and with a wide smirk, walked out of the library and down to the Slytherin Common Room.


	16. Wrong Assumption

I apologize incessantly for the long wait. I always had in mind what I wanted for this chapter, but I just couldn't get it out. And for that, I am very sorry. But this is one of my favorite and longer chapters, so I really hope you enjoy it. And I _will_ update quickly after this, as that is definitely in order. Thank you to all my reviewers (you know who you are) and my **awesome** beta: TheScarlettSecret. Enjoy!

**Chapter 16: Wrong Assumption**

Lily exited the library, her heart racing and her mind trying to comprehend what she'd just heard. _Remus was a werewolf? The Marauders went to the Whomping Willow nearly every month? What idiots! _Tears sprang to Lily's eyes as she realized that James had lied to her. _How could he? _Lily came to a halt and leaned wearily against the nearest stone wall, slumping to the floor, tears blurring her vision. Sure, it wasn't anything big that James had lied about. At least he wasn't seeing another girl… or was he? How could she know? He'd lied to her once for sure; who knew how many other times?

"I need Olivia… and chocolate," Lily murmured, taking a deep breath. Maybe James _hadn't_ lied to her. Maybe Peter was just trying to get back at the Marauders for something… she knew they never had really treated Peter as kindly as they should. He always needed help with something or other, and they never had the patience or time to assist him. Also, Lily knew that James cared for her a whole lot, and she found it hard to believe that he'd lie to _her_. But, then again, Remus being a werewolf was something that he wouldn't want everyone to know.

For the first time in her life, Lily wasn't sure what to do. Should she confront James about it? No… that'd just lead to another fight and possibly a breakup, and she didn't want that. But she did want to know whether or not he'd been lying to her about other things.

Sighing and swiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her robe, Lily stood up and walked slowly back to the common room, deciding to talk to Olivia first before she took any action.

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"Wow," was all Olivia could say once Lily had told her what'd happened when they were safe in their dorms. Alice was there, and Lily had no trouble deciding whether or not to tell her too.

"Jeez…" was all she could say.

"Yeah…" Lily replied, nervously twisting the corner of her blanket. "Now, what do I do?"

"I think you should talk to James," Alice answered without hesitation, always being the practical one.

"I really don't want to get into another fight though," Lily countered.

"But that's the only thing you _can_ do. That is, if you want to know the truth."

"True…"

"No, it's not the only way," Olivia said suddenly; both girls turned to look at her.

"What's the other way?" Lily asked.

"It's a lot more dangerous, but tons more fun."

"… and?" Alice prompted.

"Follow them," Olivia said simply.

"What?" Lily asked, confused.

"The next full moon, follow them. You know how they leave to go "study". Just follow them and see what happens. You'll figure out whether or not Remus is actually a werewolf, and if and why James lied to you."

"Oh Olivia," Lily breathed, comprehending the idea, "that's absolutely brilliant!"

"No way!" Alice protested. "That's way too dangerous! If Remus really _is_ a werewolf, you could get bitten! Or worse!"

"We won't get too close… hopefully they might come out onto the grounds so we wouldn't actually have to go in the Shrieking Shack," Olivia said.

"And what happens if they don't come out, Olivia?" Alice countered. "You couldn't bribe me with a truck full of chocolate frogs to go in the Shrieking Shack even if Remus _wasn't_ a werewolf."

"Alice, that's just you," Olivia replied. "Lily's not scared… right? You know those rumors about it being haunted aren't true." Lily nodded, hesitating a bit, but Olivia didn't notice. "And if they don't come out, well, then we'll just revert to Alice's plan: talk to James."

"I hope they come out then," Lily responded.

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So far, Olivia's plan was working perfectly (she wasn't going because it'd look too suspicious). All the Marauders had gotten detention after dinner for setting Filch's hair on fire, so while they were downstairs polishing trophies, Lily had the perfect opportunity to fall asleep in the common room. It'd look like she was waiting for James, which she was, but for a different reason. She hoped they'd make a lot of noise when they came downstairs to leave (_if_ they did) because Lily was sure that she wouldn't wake up if they didn't. Olivia tucked a blanket around her and kissed her forehead gently.

"Goodnight, Lily dear," she said. Lily smiled at her friend.

"Goodnight, Olivia," she replied in a singsong voice. Grinning, Olivia made her way up to the dorm and Lily quickly fell asleep to the sound of the crackling fire.

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"Smell me, James!" Sirius crowed.

"Is there a _reason _I would want to smell you?" James asked as they rounded the corner and headed towards the Fat Lady. The castle was empty as it was past curfew and quiet except for the Marauder's voices bouncing off the stone walls.

"Because I smell good! Like shoe polish!" Sirius shoved his hands in front of James' nose and he swatted them away.

"Cut it out, you two," Remus snapped irritably. "You'll wake the whole castle." James and Sirius immediately fell silent.

"Password," James said to the Fat Lady and she swung open, smiling at her creativity.

"When did Madam Pomfrey say she'd come and get us?" Peter squeaked.

"You mean Remus," Remus answered.

"She said in a few minutes." Sirius shrugged. "I guess that means we just wait around."

"No, that means that the three of you go upstairs and wait until I'm in the tree. Sheesh. _Think_ guys! You know the routine! Don't screw it up!"

"Wow, Moony… why so uptight?" James asked. Remus fidgeted with a loose thread on the cuff of his robe.

"I just… I just feel like something's gonna go wrong tonight."

"Psh, nothing will go wrong! Nothing ever has and nothing ever will. Besides, you said we could go about Hogesmade tonight!" Sirius rebutted.

"Pity you remembered," Remus muttered. Speaking louder, he said, "Now the rest of you get up to the dorm. The last thing I want is to have to transform alone or have you guys arrested for being illegal animagi."

"Yes, Mother Worrywart!" Sirius saluted, a cocky grin on his face, and he marched up the stairs, Peter and James following. But when James passed the couch in front of the fireplace, he stopped and dashed over to it. Sirius groaned.

"Come, Prince James… to bed! You can bring your princess with you if you'd like." Sirius waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Shut up, Padfoot," James said, glaring at his best friend. Then he turned back to Lily and gently shook her awake.

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Lily groaned inwardly as she felt someone shaking her. _Go away!_ she thought. _Let me sleep!_

"Lily… Lily! Wake up!" _Was someone calling her?_ "LILY!" Suddenly jerked to her senses, Lily sat straight up and was not pleased to experience immediate pain throughout her head. She collapsed back onto the pillow, clutching her forehead.

"Awww… shit!" Opening her eyes, Lily looked up and saw James cradling his nose, blood seeping through his fingers. She gasped and sat up, careful to avoid getting hit again.

"Oh my God, James! I'm so sorry!" James shook his head. Lily brought her hands to her mouth, trying hard not to laugh.

"I'm so sorry, James… here, want me to go and get some tissues?"

"I've got some!" Peter announced, running back down the stairs from the dorm holding a wad of tissues in his hand.

"Thanks Wormtail," James muttered in a nasally voice, grabbing several and holding them to his nose.

"Here, James, lie down." James collapsed onto the couch, his head in Lily's lap, and groaned.

"Thanks, Lils," he said, his voice muffled because of the tissues.

"I'm truly sorry James… you just scared me. Next time, don't shout at someone when they're just waking up."

"It's always my fault… it always comes back to me," James muttered. Lily caught Sirius's eye over James's head and the two of them smiled and started to laugh.

"Sorry James," Lily said as he frowned, brushing strands of black hair out of his face. "It's just, I've never given anyone a bloody nose before."

"And you look funny," Sirius joined in and he and Lily both laughed.

"Ugh…" James pulled the tissues away from his face and glanced at them. He then abruptly turned around and shoved them in Lily's face. "Bloooooood! Blooooooood!"

"EWWW! James, _stop_!" Lily cried, pushing the bloody tissues out of her face. Laughing, she tried to climb off the couch but James pulled her back down.

"You're not going anywhere until you get a taste of my pain!"

"Oh please, no!" Lily cried, laughing as James grabbed her wrists and forced them away from her face. He held them off to the side with one hand and with the other, propped himself up on one elbow so he was lying squarely on top of his girlfriend.

"Is this some weird mating ritual?" Sirius murmured. James heard him but didn't care to think what this might look like to strangers. He was having too much fun.

Red in the face, Lily tried in vain to pry her hands free, laughing all the while.

"What should I do to you… what to do to poor Miss Lily Evans…" James murmured.

"Oh, you wouldn't hurt me, James," Lily countered. "You wouldn't dare."

"Well, you did," he pointed out.

"But that was on _accident_. Not on purpose." James was silent for a few moments as he gazed down at Lily; she could literally see the wheels turning in his head.

"No," he finally said. "You're right, I couldn't hurt you." Lily grinned.

"I _knew_ it." Sighing, James sat up and with a final swipe at his nose with the tissues, tossed them in the fire and offered his hand to Lily.

"I'll walk you up to bed," he said and Lily took his offered hand, feeling very much like a spoiled princess. Together they climbed to the very top of the stairs where Lily, after a passionate kiss, walked into her dorm; unbeknownst to James, she had no intention of staying.

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As soon as Lily heard James' footsteps die away, she waited another 30 seconds to be safe, and then quietly opened the door and crept back down the stairs. She positioned herself just inside the curve of the stairwell leading down into the common room: concealed so as not to be noticed, but close enough to hear anything. She didn't have to wait long. Within three minutes she heard footsteps and the stern voice of Madam Pomfrey.

"Ready, Lupin?" she asked.

"Yes, Professor," Lily heard Remus reply. There were more footsteps and then all was silent, except for the soft crackling of the fire. Lily drew a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. A good ten minutes passed before Lily heard more footsteps, followed by the soft murmur of voices. She knew it was the rest of the Marauders. The footsteps headed towards the opposite side of the common room, and when they were gone, Lily knew it was alright to appear.

Quickly and quietly she darted to the portrait hole and pushed gently, praying hard that the Fat Lady was sleeping. Her prayers were answered when the soft sound of snores reached her ears. Ever so gently, she crept out of the common room and gently shut the door, careful not to wake her. Looking down the corridor she saw nothing except eerie blackness. Where had they gone? Why couldn't she see them? She hadn't been _that_ far behind. Lily thought for a moment and decided that her best bet was outside on the grounds. If Remus really was a werewolf, she highly doubted Dumbledore would let him change _in_ the castle. Glancing quickly about her, she dashed down the hallway trying to find James so she could follow him. But as hard as she looked and as fast as she walked, she couldn't see them… at all.

Lily swore under her breath and came to a stop, turning abruptly to hide behind a statue in case Filch came by. If she couldn't see them, maybe she could hear them. She held her breath for a few seconds: nothing. Lily cursed herself for having done this. It was completely insane! Not too mention stupid. What if she was caught? She didn't want to add another detention to her list. But she _needed_ to find out what was going on with the Marauders.

Curiosity won over eventually, and Lily quickly hurried down several more corridors and made her way to the front doors of the castle. To her surprise, they were opening right in front of her… but she couldn't see anyone there. Frowning, Lily crept closer to the doors and was proven not insane when the door opened even more and a foot appeared out of nowhere on the threshold of the castle. Straining her ears, she heard several voices mutter incoherently before the foot disappeared again and the door started to close. Not wanting to be left behind, Lily darted through the doors just as they were about to close and found herself utterly alone on the dark grounds of the school. Not a soul was in sight and, despite herself, Lily began to feel scared.

"Ok, Lily, calm down… calm down… it's gonna be ok…" She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and steadied herself. Opening her eyes, she strained to see something in the darkness… anything. After a few seconds, movement caught her eye over by the Whomping Willow. The full moon illuminated the tree briefly, allowing Lily to see several shapes run towards it and its branches stop moving. Then the light was gone, but Lily knew where she had to go.

Moving quickly, she scurried across the grounds towards the tree and was glad to find it was still unmoving. She made her way carefully through the thick limbs until she came to a hole in the trunk, barely large enough for her to fit through. Dropping to her knees, she peered into the hole and saw nothing but eerie blackness stretching up to greet her. Resting her hand on a knot on the trunk, she proceeded to crawl through the hole. But not before sharp pain shot up her back and she heard the _thwack!_ of a tree limb come crashing down right above her head. With a scream, Lily flung herself through the hole and out of the reach of the tree that was now going crazy aboveground. Breathing hard, Lily stood up, careful to not bump her head, and dusted off her robes. What had she gotten herself into? Literally. This was no regular tree.

"Lumos," she whispered, pulling out her wand. By the small beam of light she made her way down through the tunnel until she came to a large room. Squinting, she could make out a ripped sofa along one wall, a torn painting on another, and several large chunks of wood strewn over the floor. On the opposite wall was a door, and Lily walked towards it, apprehensive about what would be on the outside. Grasping the rust handle, she turned it with a loud squeak, and a sharp breeze hit her face as she stepped outside… into Hogesmade. Stepping out onto the threshold of the door, Lily turned around and found herself staring up at the Shrieking Shack. Lily's heart skipped a beat as she realized where she was. Ghosts were supposed to inhabit this place! Ghouls and spirits that killed and ate whoever came near it! Of course, Lily highly doubted these rumors were true, but nevertheless, she ran away from the house as quickly as she could and onto the grounds where she felt safer, but only by a tiny bit.

Pulling her cloak closer about her, Lily began to make her way through the town, sticking close to the shops so she didn't feel as vulnerable. As she drew closer to the Three Broomsticks she began to hear odd noises: loud scuffles and sniffs, followed by a bark. _Must be some stray dogs…_ Lily thought, rounding the corner. She looked up and stopped dead in her tracks, fear flooding every pore in her body at the scene before her eyes.

In an open clearing in front of the Three Broomsticks were four animals: a rat, a shaggy black dog, a stag, and a werewolf. They looked as if they'd been playing happily before Lily arrived. The rat squeaked and hurried towards Lily who screamed and shuffled backwards quickly. She absolutely _hated_ rats. The dog barked warningly and moved towards the werewolf who was eyeing Lily with a sort of hunger in his eyes that made Lily's blood freeze. It's eyes met hers and they glazed over into a sort of trance as he moved slowly towards her. With a howl, the dog lunged at the werewolf and knocked him backwards as the stag rushed towards Lily. He hit her leg with his hoof in a motion to run, and Lily did just that. She'd never been a fast runner, or athletic for that matter, but adrenaline forced Lily to run like she'd never run before, the stag close on her heels. Why did he keep following her? He acted like he wanted to see her to safety… why would a stag care? For that matter, why were the animals playing together in the first place? It wasn't often that a stag and a rat were found playing hopscotch.

But Lily had no time to wonder as she ran through the streets of Hogesmade, tears springing to her eyes as a howl reached her ears. Why had she done this? Why had she been so stupid? She'd never even considered what would happen if Remus _was_ a werewolf. She'd just assumed Peter had been lying. Another howl pierced the night, louder and longer this time. Tears streamed down Lily's face and she hastily swiped at her eyes as she gasped for breath. The stag pushed her again, urging her on as the werewolf howled and the dog barked incessantly. Lily let out a loud sob and, blinded by her tears, stumbled and fell to her knees, her hands stinging as they slid across the pavement. The stag rushed back to her, forced on by his momentum as Lily brought her sleeve to her face to wipe her eyes. One minute she felt the stag's hoof in her lap and the next she felt a pair of strong hands gripping her shoulders and pulling her roughly to her feet. She looked up and found herself looking into a pair of bright hazel eyes framed by black rimmed glasses.

"James!" she screamed, her mind reeling. "What-"

"Not now!" James yelled over another blood curling wail. "Lily, you've got to run! Run back to the castle as fast as you can. Sirius and I will hold Remus off."

"Sirius is-"

"RUN!" James yelled, pushing Lily away from him towards the castle. Another shriek split the darkness, closely followed by a whimper. James gave Lily another push.

"RUN, LILY, RUN!" he screamed, his eyes frantic. "I'LL EXPLAIN LATER! RUN!" Bewildered and nearing hysteria, tears building up behind her eyes once again, Lily turned and ran. She dashed through the streets, werewolf howls stalking her but dying slowly away as she moved closer and closer to the castle. When Hogwarts finally came into view, Lily hurried towards it, her heart racing, adrenaline shooting through her veins. She looked back towards Hogesmade. Street lamps flickered and danced off of storefronts, casting eerie shadows that danced and wove underneath the full moon. One lone howl pierced the night and then all was jarringly silent, except for Lily's frantic sobs as she collapsed on the threshold of the castle.


	17. It Started With Dreams

101 Reviews! Yay! Thanks so much to everyone! And also, a big hug to my beta, TheScarlettSecret. You're awesome!

This is one of my favorite chapters. Short, yes, but filled with action. I didn't plan to have this happen, but I just started writing and didn't really see a way out of Lily's "midnight escapade" without this. Enjoy! And don't forget to review!

**Chapter 17:** **It Started With Dreams**

Lily lay there, panting, the cold stone of the castle pressing against her tear stained face, as she tried to get her breathing under control. Biting her lip, she raised her hand to her face and slowly tried to wipe away her tears. Adrenaline rushed out of her body, leaving her feeling cold, limp, and utterly helpless. A soft sob escaped her mouth and she drew in a deep shuddering breath, trying to clear her mind with the cool night air. She turned her head and glanced towards Hogesmade, dreading the moment the werewolf would burst out toward her, anticipating it any second. Images flashed before her eyes, as her brain tried to make sense of what had happened. Why were James and Sirius down there? Why hadn't she seen them at first?

Lily didn't know how long she lay on the steps of the castle, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in the Hospital Wing. How warm she was… how comfortable and safe she felt… then terror flooded through Lily as she realized that she hadn't gotten herself there, someone had brought her up. But who? Was she in trouble? Still feeling slightly groggy, Lily struggled into a sitting position, glancing blearily around the room. She inhaled sharply as she saw Remus lying in the bed next to her, scratches covering his face, neck, and what little she could see of his arms. She stared at him as she regained her memories, trying to comprehend that _he_, gentle, sweet, caring Remus had been the beast last night who would've torn her to pieces if it hadn't been for James.

"Good, Lily, you're awake." Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office, carrying a tray of hot tea and biscuits.

"Eat," she commanded, setting the tray on Lily's bedside table. Lily sat up as

Madam Pomfrey fluffed up her pillows then leaned against them, her back protesting as she felt the hard iron headboard poke into her. Squirming into a comfier position, Lily gladly accepted the cup of hot tea, enjoying the feeling of the warmth slithering down her throat.

"After you've eaten, and gotten dressed, you may leave," Madam Pomfrey said, laying out Lily's school clothes on the bed next to her. "All you needed was a night of rest after…" Madam Pomfrey paused, glanced over at Remus, and then looked back at Lily, "what happened."

Suddenly, the tea slithering down Lily's throat didn't seem so warm anymore.

"The Headmaster would like to see you in his office before you head back to your classes. The password is chocolate frogs." And with that, she turned and headed back into her office, leaving Lily with a colossal sized knot in her stomach.

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Lily stood outside the statue to Dumbledore's office, contemplating on whether or not she should go in. But of course, being the good girl she was, the password forced itself out of Lily's throat before she'd made up her mind, and she found herself climbing up the winding stairs. She knocked once she reached the top, the door opening a few moments later. James stood there, several scratches running across his face, wearing a worn weary look. He stepped aside so Lily could walk in. As she did, their eyes met and Lily's heart grew cold at the blank stare she received. Glancing up, she saw Dumbledore sitting placidly at his desk, his long fingers placed tip to tip in front of his face, lightly touching the end of his nose. His electric blue eyes sparkled as he motioned for Lily to sit down across from him. Lily did so, tentatively lowering herself into the chair, wondering what was going to come of this meeting. James shut the door and, instead of leaving, as Lily had hoped, he sat down in the chair next to her, staring straight ahead, his face set in a stony expression.

"Thank you for coming up, Miss Evans, on such short notice," Dumbledore said abruptly, his crystal clear voice penetrating the silence like a knife.

"No problem," Lily murmured glancing at the phoenix perched on the wall. His beady eyes met hers, condemning her. She looked away, feeling tears welling up in her throat. She forced them down and looked up when Dumbledore spoke again.

"Miss Evans, I will not ask you to repeat the events of last night, but I trust you understand you were not meant to witness them. But now that you have, it's time you knew the truth." At the word "truth", Lily glanced over at James, but he remained motionless as ever. The knot in her stomach grew tighter.

"I understand, Sir," Lily answered softly.

"The werewolf is, as you might've guessed, Remus Lupin. He transforms in the Whomping Willow every full moon. But never before, to my knowledge, has he run about Hogesmade." At this statement, Dumbledore looked at James and raised his eyebrows. James shifted in his seat, but continued to stare stonily ahead.

"Who were the animals that were with him?" Lily asked quietly.

"Who were the animals?" Dumbledore repeated. "Well, I'm not entirely sure myself. Who were the animals, James?" James looked at Dumbledore and shook his head slowly.

"You know as well as I do, Sir," he replied.

"Ah, yes, I know. But Lily here doesn't." James glanced at Lily and then quickly lowered his gaze. He muttered something Lily couldn't hear.

"Yes?" she prompted. James jerked his head up and met her gaze fiercely.

"Me, Lily. Me. Me, Sirius, and Peter. We were the animals." Silence enveloped the room again as Lily tried to comprehend what she'd heard. How could they be animals? It wasn't possible. Unless…

"You're animagi?" Lily asked in disbelief as the answer unfolded, her heart racing.

"Yes." More silence. Lily hated it.

"But how?"

"We did it in fifth year. We figured out the potion, made it, and became animagi to help Remus with his transformations." A thousand thoughts raced through Lily's head, and she didn't care to try and figure them out. How could James do something so risky? How could he be so stupid as to attempt something so dangerous? But it had worked. The Marauders, the brilliant Marauders, had figured out how to become animagi and they'd done it. Lily didn't know what to say. Everything made sense now. Horribly so.

"Why did you come down last night?" James asked.

"Peter told me. He told me you weren't really planning a Valentine's Day prank in the Shrieking Shack. He said you were helping Remus transform into a werewolf. I was curious, so I followed you guys last night when you left."

"Why didn't you just ask me if it was true or not?" James asked.

"I didn't want to have a fight." Lily shrugged. "I didn't want you to think I was accusing you of lying. Which I shouldn't have worried about anyways."

"But you understand, don't you?"

"Understand what?" Lily demanded, her temper flaring.

"Headmaster, may we continue this outside your office?" James asked, turning back to Dumbledore who had sat there the whole time watching the proceedings as if they were a television show.

"Yes, you are both excused. But I must warn you, don't take this too far. It was just a misunderstanding. A misjudgment of truth and character. Please, I would like to have both our head boy and girl alive at the end of the year." Lily and James both stood up, Dumbledore acknowledged them with a nod of his head, and they walked out the door. Lily quickly descended the spiral staircase and bolted through the statue and into the corridor, James right behind her. He grabbed her arm as she made to turn the corner and pulled her back towards him.

"Lily, we need to talk."

"There's nothing to say," Lily retorted, trying to worm her way out of his grip. "You lied to me. End of story." James let out a sound of disbelief.

"You're the one who was stupid enough to follow us. Why did you assume Peter was lying?"

"Because it's Peter. You've said yourself he's not to be trusted. And I wanted to trust you James Potter. I wanted to trust that you were telling the truth."

"But why didn't you just ask me? I wouldn't have yelled."

"Maybe not," Lily replied, "but you would've just lied even more, thinking you could get away with it."

James let go of her arm and ran his fingers through his hair. He took a deep breath and blew it out sharply, trying to calm down. But Lily was not about to calm down anytime soon.

"What else do I need to know about you, James? Besides the fact that you love to lie and that you're an illegal animagi? Do you have another girlfriend, perhaps? A secret lover?" Lily demanded.

"Lily, stop it. You know I'd never do such a thing."

"I never thought you'd lie to me either, James." Lily stood there feeling like her heart had been thrown into a blender and ripped to shreds. Crushing, painful, heart- wrenching hurt filled her body and she waited for James to respond, tears welling up behind her eyes. But he, the suave, smooth talking, confident James had nothing left to defend himself with.

"Lily, I'm sorry," he said, reaching for her hand. "You're right, you're not at fault here. I really am sorry. Next time, I'll tell you everything, I swear."

"James," Lily whispered, withdrawing her hand from his, "I don't know if there's going to be a next time." Once Lily saw the hurt fill his eyes, the same gut wrenching pain she was feeling, she turned and ran back to the common room, past several first years giggling over innocent crushes. She climbed the steps to her dormitory three at a time, and gratefully threw herself onto her four poster, sobbing into her pillow.

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James trudged back to his dormitory, glaring at the shrieking first years, and sat slowly down on his bed. What the hell was wrong with him? Why did he always have to screw everything up? In that moment, James hated himself more than he ever had before. Even more than the time he forgot to buy Sirius a Christmas present. Reaching for the picture of him and Lily in Hogesmade on his bedside table, he stared at it, yearning to once again see the happiness in Lily's eyes, see the smile spread across her beautiful face, and hear her laughter echoing through the air. A single tear slid down his face and landed on the frame, blotting out Lily's face. From the picture. And from his life.


	18. The Limits of Love

**Chapter 18: The Limits of Love**

Lily stared out the glass window at the slightly distorted wisps of snow falling to the ground below, drawing her out of the library and into the world beyond; inviting her to float with them into nothingness. Sighing, she leaned her head on her hand and continued to stare out the window, trying to forget how miserable she felt. How shitty the past week had been. _Shittiest week of my life…_ Lily thought dully, idly playing with the necklace James had given her. She still wore it; she didn't know why. She wasn't sure if they were officially broken up. Or maybe, she just didn't want to believe it. James certainly acted like they were. They hadn't talked since the day they'd fought. He never even so much as glanced at her anymore.

Jerking her eyes away from the window, Lily looked across the library at a young girl and boy, studying for their upcoming charm test, holding hands under the table. _Young love_… How sweet and innocent they both seemed. They couldn't be more than thirteen. _They make a cute couple_… Lily thought. Fighting back tears, Lily gathered up her books and walked out of the library, just in time to see the boy kiss the girl chastely on the cheek.

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Peter rolled over onto his side, trying to get more comfortable. He laid in that position for a few minutes, willing sleep to come to him. He wanted to forget the fight in the common room. He wanted to forget the look on his fellow Marauder's faces. He wanted to forget the pit of guilt in his stomach as he'd lied his way out of what he'd done.

It had started after dinner when James had confronted him about their Midnight Escapade. Peter knew it'd happen eventually… he was just surprised it had taken so long. He supposed James had needed to get over the shock of breaking up with Lily before he could really get mad at Peter.

"Why did you do it? Why did you tell her?" James shouted, his deep voice booming around the common room. It'd been empty except for a couple of second years, who quickly scurried away once the yelling began.

"I-I… it just came out," Peter stuttered, wincing as James took a menacing step towards him.

"How could something like that just come _out_?" James demanded. "Something like _that_? The secret that we've kept since 5th year. The promise we made each other. The _promise_ Peter! Don't you remember the _promise_?"

"Y-yes, I do!" Peter squeaked. "But-but"

"But _what_, Peter? You betrayed us all! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US! You made me lose Lily, the only woman I have ever loved, you made Sirius nearly sacrifice his life to keep Lily from getting hurt, and you humiliated Remus!"

"I know, I know!" Peter cried, holding up his hands. "Snape made me, though! Snape made me!" James opened his mouth, but shut it abruptly, pondering over what Peter had said.

"What do you _mean_,Snape _made_ you do it?" Peter cleared his throat, trying to think of a quick lie to get himself out of the spotlight.

"He-he likes Lily. He really likes her," Peter said quickly. He'd never been good with thinking on his feet. "He hated you for going out with her. He wanted you two to break up. So he told me to do something about it. Anything. Anything at all. Anything it took to make you break up with her."

"And how did _you_ come up with the elaborate plan to tell her about Remus being a werewolf?" James asked incredulously.

"I-I was jealous," Peter murmured, the knot in his stomach easing up a bit as he told the truth. "I was jealous of the fact that you had a girlfriend. And that Sirius could get any girl he wanted. And Remus. Remus had the brains… and the looks too. And I, I had nothing." James didn't know what to say. He stood there dumbfounded. Peter stared dully at the carpet, feeling foolish. You couldn't be a man if you were jealous. That's what his father had always taught him.

"Snape had already suspected that something was going on with Remus… the way he was in the Hospital Wing every 28 days covered in scratches and bruises," Peter continued, trying to not make himself seem too smart. "He figured that Remus was a werewolf, but he had no way of proving it. So he told me to tell Lily. Then he figured she'd get mad at you for lying to her and you'd break up and he could go out with her." Peter took a deep breath.

"But he didn't figure that Lily would actually trust me for once and follow us," James said. "And neither did you." Peter hung his head.

"N-no, I didn't."

"What did Snape threaten to do to you if you didn't tell Lily about Remus being a werewolf?" Peter tried to think quickly.

"H-he never said, exactly," Peter muttered, "but he did say it would be something horrible. He'd do something to my family. I-I believed him, James. I know he would've done it." James heaved a huge sigh and walked towards the window. He leaned his head against the panes and gripped the ledge with his fingers. Peter watched him stare intensely out into the darkness.

"I'm sorry, James," Peter choked. "I'm sorry for what I did." James sighed again.

"So am I, Peter."

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Lily walked slowly down the corridors, not even caring where she was going, or where she was. She knew she was somewhere near the Slytherin Common Room, as it'd gotten quite colder in the past few minutes and she'd gone down several flights of stairs. Turning a corner, she saw Severus Snape walking quickly down the hall towards the common room. He looked up, saw Lily, and immediately stopped. His dark eyes glinted fiercely and his eyes traveled up and down her body. Lily's heart froze. The only other person who'd looked at her like that had been James, and then she hadn't minded it. But now, Lily wished she'd never come down here. She wished she'd gone straight back to the Common Room.

"Good evening, Lily," Snape slithered, adjusting his robes with a flourish.

"Hello, Severus," Lily replied, taking a deep breath and trying to remain calm.

"What, may I ask, are _you_ doing wandering the halls at this time of night? Am I correct in saying that you and James do not have duty tonight?"

"You've said correctly," Lily replied, clutching her books tightly to her chest. "I was just talking a bit of a stroll… a long way back to the common room, you might say." Snape nodded.

"May I ask you something?"

"Ask away."

"I've heard that you and James are no longer seeing each other… is this true?" Lily shrugged.

"I guess… we got into a fight. A big one. And I got mad at him and told him I didn't think there'd be another chance for him to redeem himself… and we haven't spoken since." _Lily! _ Her brain reprimanded. _Why are you telling this to Snape of all people?_

"Ahh… I see," Snape said, nodding. "Well, I'm sorry for your loss… if you can count it as that." Lily smiled thinly. "Now, what lead to this fight?"

"Oh, nothing really…" Lily answered. "He just sort of twisted the truth to protect someone." Snape's eyes glinted maliciously.

"Such as… a lie?" Lily shrugged.

"Yes, a lie," she said.

"To protect whom?" Snape asked.

"A… friend," Lily replied, guessing that James would not want Snape to know that Remus was a werewolf and that he and the rest of the Marauders were Animagi. Snape clicked his tongue against his teeth, and nodded slowly.

"I see," he said, a grin creeping onto his face. "Well, Lily, I shall not detain you much longer. You'd better get some rest. Big Potions test tomorrow… but of course, you will do well. You always do well." Lily smiled.

"Yes, well I do find the subject easy," she said.

"Fascinating," Snape whispered, his eves roving over her body once again, "isn't it?" Lily laughed nervously, dying to get away.

"Yes, yes it is. Well, I'll see you tomorrow Severus."

"Good night, Lily," Snape replied. With one last smile and a flourish of his robes, he walked down the corridor towards the common room. After giving the password, the dungeon door opened and he climbed inside, leaving Lily alone and slightly frightened in the dark hallway.

Without any hesitation, she quickly made her way down the hallway and up several flights of stairs towards the Gryffindor Common Room. She glanced out a window and was startled to see several stars winking at her through the panes. _I must have been wandering a long time_…she thought.

"Miss Evans?" Lily looked up, startled, and found herself staring straight into Dumbledore's eyes, her shocked face reflected in his spectacles.

"Professor," Lily said, taking a step back and laughing nervously. "I didn't see you there." Dumbledore peered curiously down at her.

"What are you doing walking around this late?" he asked. "You're lucky you're Head Girl, otherwise you'd be in serious trouble." Lily laughed again.

"I realized that as soon as I looked out the window. I wasn't doing anything bad, honest Professor," she said. Dumbledore chuckled.

"I believe you, Miss Evans. Would you like to take a walk with me? Or have you had enough walking tonight?"

"N-no, I'll walk with you," Lily replied, slightly taken aback.

"Good," Dumbledore said, smiling. Lily followed Dumbledore past the Great Hall and out through the front doors and onto the grounds. The icy air filled Lily's body and took her breath away for a moment. _At least it's not windy_… Lily thought, pulling her cloak closer to shield her body from the cold. Dumbledore led her to the lake and after tapping his wand on a nearby rock, sat down and gestured for Lily to sit down beside him. She did so and found that the rock was pleasantly warm.

"So, Miss Evans, how are you?" Dumbledore asked, turning his head to look at her. Lily shrugged, avoided his eyes, and looked out over the dark lake.

"Fine, I suppose," she replied. "As fine as one can be during their last year of Hogwarts."

"You will miss the place, then?" Dumbledore asked.

"Of course I will," Lily said, "I've spent nearly half my life here." Dumbledore smiled and gazed up at the stars.

"Every student says that, but once they get out into the real world, they don't miss it anymore."

"I will," Lily replied certainly. "The real world is so… dangerous. Here at Hogwarts we're safe. We're protected. We've got a home and people looking after us."

"Yes, yes… you've got the best protection I can offer; which is quite a lot. You will do fine in the real world. You will thrive and be excellent at whatever you choose to do." Warmth spread throughout Lily's body at the compliment.

"Thank you, Professor."

"I hear you are considering becoming an Auror?" he asked.

"Yes, that or a potion master. But I'm not _that_ into potions… I'm just good at it. And I don't think I'm brave enough to be an auror."

"Bravery comes with time, Miss Evans," Dumbledore replied. "You have all the skills necessary, you just need the heart. The confidence." Lily shrugged.

"I'm not calm when I'm faced with fear. I panic. I don't think straight. Like… last week. With the full moon and everything." Dumbledore nodded knowingly.

"That was a great, and sudden, test of courage. You were not expecting it."

"But an Auror is never expecting danger. They're just always looking for it," Lily contradicted.

"That is where you are wrong, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said. "An Auror is constantly on the look out for danger. They are constantly expecting it. They are trained to always be prepared and to expect that there will be danger around every corner."

"Oh… I didn't know that," Lily said softly. She stared out at the lake, its calm waters looking like glass. She pictured herself diving into it, breaking the calmness, and swimming through the thick blackness… smoothly pushing the water and guiding herself to whatever lay ahead.

"The Marauders would make great Aurors," Dumbledore commented suddenly. "They've trained themselves how to deal with danger and fear. They have the skills, the confidence… everything."

"I agree," Lily said. "They could be some of the best Aurors of our time… except, they can get a bit cocky sometimes." Dumbledore laughed.

"So, how are things between you and Mr. Potter?" Shocked, Lily was silent for a few moments. Since when did teachers want to know about their student's love lives?

"F-fine… I guess." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at her, and Lily looked away. "Not fine."

"As I've heard," Dumbledore said.

"I don't know what happened, we just-"

"Shh…" Dumbledore raised a finger to his lips. "I do not want you to explain all your feelings to me, Miss Evans, because I can imagine how uncomfortable it would be. Just listen to what I have to say. Mr. Potter is a great man. He lied to you to protect his friends. The Marauders have been close since they first set foot in this castle, and nothing can break them. Except for one little lie. One little slip up. Jealousy ruled Peter to do what he did. He has never been quite as popular as James, Sirius, and Remus, and he wanted the glory for a moment. Just for a moment." Dumbledore paused for a moment before going on. "I've seen the way James looks at you, Miss Evans. And it is not the way a young boy looks at his crush. He _loves_ you. He loves you with all his heart. And you would do best to put yourself in his shoes. He would've told you about Remus sooner or later, but it was to protect his friend from getting hurt. The Marauders had a bond of trust that they thought could never break. But now, it has. And it will never be re-sewn has tightly as it was before. He needs you. He needs your help."

A chilly wind blew across the grounds and the lake lapped against the warm rock Lily and Dumbledore were sitting on.

"I'm not used to giving speeches on love, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said, chuckling. "But I would hate to see the love you two share for each other go to waste, especially when James went to his limits to earn your trust and respect. Now that he's lost it, he will do anything to get it back. You still love him, I presume?"

"Yes, I do," Lily said quietly. Dumbledore stood up and laid his hand on Lily's shoulder.

"It is my duty to protect you from getting hurt, Miss Evans. Inside and out. This is the best I can do." He squeezed her shoulder and then walked back towards the castle, leaving Lily perched alone on the rock. She drew her knees to her chest and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. Her mouth trembled and tears formed beneath her lids.

She saw James' face that Christmas morning as she'd come running down the stairs, the necklace he'd given her clutched tightly in her hand. She felt his hands caressing her and the way her heart fluttered when he whispered,

"I love you," in her ear. Lily pressed her hand against her mouth as burning tears flowed down her cheeks. She let out a quiet sob and hung her head, feeling the weight of the world pressing down on her back. Standing up shakily, tears blurring her vision, Lily looked across the lake and to the Quidditch pitch beyond. Her eyes rose up to meet the dark sky, and she felt for a moment as though she might fly. She lifted her arms and her robes snapped around her body as a fierce gust of wind met her. Dieing to fly away from her life, Lily jumped.

The icy water surrounded her and sucked out all her air. It quickly froze the tears on her cheeks, and as she resurfaced, the chilly air pierced her lungs. Her shoes and cloak dragged her further down, and the water slid down her throat, filling her lungs and freezing her blood. She spat it back out as she resurfaced, the icy air filling her chest once again. Feeling as though someone had grabbed her head and was pushing her back down, further and further into the blackness, Lily thrashed about, screaming and crying out, tears still pouring down her face.

Suddenly, Lily found herself being dragged forcedly out of the water and thrown onto the shore. Strong hands gripped her shoulders and rolled her onto her back. The air pierced her skin and she cried out as she coughed and water spurted out of her mouth as she was pulled further up onto the grass, where she lay, wet and shivering. Familiar hands found the clasp to her cloak and undid it, wrapping another, dryer one, around her. With little effort, the hands picked her up and held her against a strong body. She laid her hand on the person's chest and felt the heart pulsing quickly under it. She began to cry again and let her head fall back as blackness overtook her. The person began to carry her across the grounds towards the castle, breathing heavily as they ran.

"It's going to be okay, Lily," he whispered.


	19. Fondue With A Kiss

**Chapter 19: Fondue With A Kiss**

**Yay!! My quickest update ever!! Hope this all made your Thanksgiving Day!! Again, I never planned to have this chapter, but it was very fun to write and is one of my favorites so far. Enjoy!!**

As soon as McGonagall dismissed the class, James leapt out of his seat and dashed out the door towards the Hospital Wing to see Lily before potions started. He only had five minutes, but it was better than nothing. Students jumped out of his way and glared at him as he sped through the halls, zooming around corners until he finally reached the Hospital Wing. Slowing down, James opened the door none too quietly, and walked into the room, breathing hard.

"Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey yelled, standing up from beside a bed occupied by a tired looking red head. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I came to see Lily," James said, dropping his book bag by the door. He could have sworn a small smile tugged at Madam Pomfrey's lips, but it was quickly replaced by a frown.

"You have three minutes," she said, glaring at him before walking out of the room. James quickly strode to Lily's bedside, knelt down beside it, and took her hand in his.

"How're you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine," Lily replied. "I'll be out of here around dinner time."

"You're becoming quite a regular in here." Lily laughed.

"Sort of like you with detention… Madam Pomfrey always keeps a spot prepared for me. Have I missed much?" James grinned.

"I knew you'd ask that. I considered on my way here what to tell you. Whether to tell you the teachers all had a freak change of mind and our NEWTs are coming up five months early, or whether to tell you that we don't have much… you'll be able to make it up." Lily breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good," she said. "I can't stand being in here doing nothing knowing I could be out there learning and studying."

"Most people can't, Lily. Don't worry, you're not alone." Lily stuck her tongue out at him.

"Why'd you come anyways?" she asked.

"To see you," James replied.

"No, to the lake. Last night. Why'd you come?"

"What're you talking about?" James asked. "I went to bed at 10:00 last night and didn't get out of bed until 6… I didn't go to any lake."

"James…"

"No really, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"James Potter, you-"

"Fifteen seconds!" Madam Pomfrey cried from her office.

"I'd better go," James said, standing up, his knees cracking. Lily reached for his hand.

"James, just please tell me why you came." James leaned down and kissed her gently.

"Because I love you Lily Evans." He turned around then, picked up his bag by the door, and strode out of the Hospital Wing, leaving a very confused, but nonetheless happy, girl in his wake.

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"LILY!!!!" Laughing, Lily welcomed Olivia as she flung herself into her arms, screeching her name. "You're back! You're finally back!"

"Yes, Olivia I'm back… after only a day." Olivia smiled.

"Doesn't matter! You're back!" She grabbed her arm and led her over to the Gryffindor table. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Lily replied, swinging her legs over the bench and taking a seat across from her friend. She took a scone from a platter and buttered it, biting off part of the delicious sensation and letting it slide down her throat.

"So… what's up with you and James?" Olivia asked eagerly, never failing to jump right to the point.

"I'm not entirely sure. He's the one who rescued me from the lake last night."

"Figures," Olivia said, taking a bite of her apple.

"And he came to visit me today in the Hospital Wing and he kissed me when he left."

"Cuuuuteee," Olivia crooned, grinning. "So, you two back together?"

"I guess…" Lily replied, glancing down the table where he sat with his fellow Marauders, their heads bent low over a piece of parchment. "I'm not sure.  
"Well, figure it out," Olivia said. "Because the whole school's confused as to what your status is." Lily grinned.

"Hopefully they won't have to be confused for long. I'm gonna ask him about it tonight."

"I'll try and clear out the common room for you, in case things get a little… heated." Olivia raised her eyebrows suggestively. Lily sighed.

"Did you pick up all my homework?"

"Of course I did," Olivia said. She reached under the table and pulled out Lily's book bag. "It's all right here."

"James said we didn't have much…" Lily said, taking it and going through the many papers.

"Half of it's mine," Olivia replied, "I didn't want to go around carrying two bags and looking like a dork." Lily breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God."

"You don't really miss much in a day," Olivia said. "But just think what you'd have missed if James hadn't saved you." Lily glanced yet again down the table at the Marauders who were still bent over the piece of parchment, silly grins on their faces.

"Yes," Lily agreed. "Just think what would've happened." Lily shuddered as memories of the cold water tugging at her came rushing back. Standing up, she grabbed her book bag and turned to head out of the Great Hall.

"Where're you going?" Olivia asked, startled.

"Olivia, I just missed a day of school. Where do you think I'm going?" Lily asked.

"Library?" Lily nodded. "Then give me my papers… or would you like to my homework for me?"

"No thanks," Lily replied, reaching into her bag. They divvied up their school work and Lily headed out of the Great Hall towards the library for some peace and quiet.

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Head bent over her History of Magic book and her hand moving furiously across the parchment, Lily never noticed James when he sat down across from her a few hours later. She continued to study away, oblivious to the person scrutinizing her closely and smiling all the while. Finally, after completing her painstakingly boring assignment, Lily leaned back in her chair and looked up.

"James!" she said, surprised. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long. Around 15 minutes or so," James replied.

"Really?" Lily asked, astounded. "Wow." She laughed nervously. "Guess I was pretty into it."

"Yes you were," James agreed. "It was fun watching you." Lily blushed slightly.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to see you… and to take you somewhere exciting."

"I've had enough adventures with you James Potter… I'd rather stay in the castle."

"It's in the castle. Don't worry, nothing will happen to you." Lily was doubtful.

"I really don't want to go to the Hospital Wing, James…"

"Lily, don't worry. Just come with me. And besides, Madam Pomfrey has a spot all ready for you. You said so yourself." James raised his eyebrows while Lily narrowed hers.

"Fine. But it's your fault if I get hurt in any way, shape, or form."

"Of course," James agreed. Still a bit wary, but curious nonetheless, Lily gathered up her school books and followed James out of the library. They climbed up three flights of stairs to the 7th floor of the castle. Lily tried to think what exciting things were on the 7th floor.

"Are we going to the common room?" Lily asked.

"Nope," James said, stopping outside a painting of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance. "Just wait a sec." He paced back in forth in front of the paint for about 30 seconds when suddenly a door appeared in the blank expanse of wall.

"Exciting, isn't it?" James asked. "After you, milady." Amazed, Lily opened the door and walked into a room she'd never seen before. It was dimly light with candles with a fire roaring in a stone grate. There was a table set for two with a bowl of steaming chocolate surrounded by arrays of fruit: pineapples, apples, strawberries, and bananas in the middle.

"Fondue!" Lily breathed excitedly. "My favorite!"

"I know," James said, pulling out a chair and gesturing for her to sit. Lily did so and eagerly pulled herself up to the table. She splayed her napkin on her lap and inhaled the sweet aroma of the food.

"What is this place?" Lily asked, looking around the room, taking it in for future reference.

"It's called the Room of Requirement," James replied, sitting down as well. "The House Elves call it the Come and Go Room. Either way, it's a room that will give you exactly what you need whenever you need it. All you have to do is think about what you want and pace outside the portrait. Then, voila! You get what you asked for."

"And what did you ask for?" Lily asked, watching as James stirred the chocolate.

"A romantic place to eat Lily's favorite food," he replied, grinning.

"So simple, yet so elegant," Lily said, spearing a banana on the end of her fork.

"I've never had fondue before," James admitted. "But I knew you liked it so I figured I would too."

"You will," Lily assured, dipping the banana in the chocolate and swirling it around. She lifted it out of the bowl, twirled the fork around so the chocolate dripped off, and held it out to James. He leaned forward and ate the offered food. Lily watched his eyes widen as he chewed and finally swallowed.

"It's very good… the chocolate tastes different." Lily nodded, spearing a strawberry.

"There's a little bit of liquor mixed in as well," she said, dipping the strawberry in the strong concoction. "It's sort of an acquired taste… you get used to it."

"So you can get drunk eating this stuff?" James asked, dipping a pineapple into it. Lily smiled.

"No, although there's only so much you can eat before you feel sick." She popped the strawberry into her mouth and smiled as it melted slowly down her throat. They ate in silence for awhile, each enjoying the other's company. Soft music began to play… a slow sensual jazz tune. The fire threw shadows across the room, and they slowly danced to the beat of the music, albeit a bit quicker. Lily stared across the table at James, admiring the sharpness of his features, the broadness of his shoulders and toned upper body, the gentle slope of his back, and his dark hazel eyes behind his glasses, which reflected the fondue bowl in front of him. He leaned back and sighed contentedly.

"I'm done… I can't eat anymore. It was good though… very good." Lily smiled.

"I'm done too," she said. "My stomach can't expand anymore."

"Care to dance then?" James asked, standing up and offering his hand. Lily accepted it and stood up as well. James drew her away from the table towards the fireplace; Lily could feel the heat against her legs.

"Too hot?" he asked, sliding his arm around her waist.

"It's fine," Lily said, placing her hand on his shoulder. He embraced her other one with his as they began to dance. The slow tune changed to a faster one, and their feet began to pad quickly across the floor. _He's pretty good_… Lily thought as James lead the dance and kept to the beat. He spun her around and as she came back into his arms, Lily couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" James asked.

"Nothing really," Lily said, smiling, "you're just a very good dancer… where'd you learn?" James grinned.

"Sirius and I taught ourselves during the summer before 4th year. I found tapes in my living room on how to dance, and so we thought we'd give it a shot."

"Really now?" Lily asked. "Why'd you want to learn?"

"To impress the ladies of course," James replied, spinning her around again. Lily laughed and shook her head.

"You, James Potter, have got to be one of the most vain people I've ever met."

"But that's what makes me so irresistible, right?" He smiled his roguish smile. _You're quite right_… Lily thought, not really wanting to answer his question.

"So, have you finished all your homework?" he asked.

"Most of it," Lily replied. "I still have to finish my Transfiguration essay, but that's it."

"I could help you… if you needed it," he said, adding the last part hastily. Lily smiled.

"I think I'll be okay on this one… but I might have to take you up on that offer some other time."

"Wow. Lily Evans getting help with her homework. What an oxymoron."

"James…"

"I'm just kidding, darling," James responded, spinning her around again. She admired his cheekiness, but didn't say anything as his arm wrapped around her again.

"Whoa. You're not mad at me!" Lily smiled.

"No, darling, I'm not." The music ended and a slower piece began to play. James drew Lily closer and wrapped both of his arms around her, allowing her to place both her hands on his shoulders. This put their faces so close together that Lily could see herself reflected in James' black rimmed glasses. Her heart beating madly, Lily turned her head to the side to look over his shoulder. Their cheeks brushed and Lily could feel the hairs on his smooth skin rub against hers, making them stand on end. The shuffled across the floor, both concentrating on the feeling of the other's body pressed against their own.

"Lily?" James asked, his breath tickling her neck.

"Mmm?"

"May I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Do you love me?" Lily wasn't expecting that. Frowning, she thought that James sounded like just another teenager with low self esteem. But then she thought about all that she'd been through… all that _they'd_ been through in the past few weeks, and it made total sense to her. Why would he waste his time with a girl who didn't love him back? He loved her, she knew that. He'd gone to his limits to earn her respect and trust. And now all he needed was her love.

Turning her head so that she faced him again, Lily raised her hand and rested it on his cheek. Slowly, she moved it around his face, tracing the bridge and slope of his nose, the rise of his cheekbones, the shape of his lips. Peering intently into his eyes, Lily saw the brutal rawness that lay inside his soul. He was waiting for an answer. An answer that would heal or destroy. Whichever she chose. Dumbledore's words echoed in her ears: _"It is my duty to protect you from getting hurt, Miss Evans. Inside and out. This is the best I can do."_ And this was the best she could do.

Her hand resting once again on his cheek, Lily leaned forward and caressed his lips gently with hers… the music slowed to a stop.

"I _do_ love you, James," she whispered, her lips brushing against his as she spoke. The silence echoed her words. The fire snapped.

And everything was perfect.


End file.
